COVID-19 genetic risk variant protects against HIV, says study – Deccan Chronicle

Solna: A recent study has revealed that in addition to risk factors such as advanced age and chronic diseases like diabetes, genetic heritage also contributes to individual COVID-19 severity risk. The study was published in ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ (PNAS). In the autumn of 2020, Hugo Zeberg at Karolinska Institutet and MPI-EVA and Svante Paabo at MPI-EVA showed that we inherited the major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 from Neanderthals. In the spring of 2021, the same researcher duo studied this variant in ancient human DNA and observed that its frequency has increased significantly since the last ice age. In fact, it has become unexpectedly common for a genetic variant inherited from Neanderthals. Hence, it may have had a favourable impact on its carriers in the past. “This major genetic risk factor for COVID-19 is so common that I started wondering whether it might actually be good for something, such as providing protection against another infectious disease,” said Hugo Zeberg, who is the sole author of the study. The genetic risk factor is located in a region on chromosome 3 that consists of many genes. There are several genes in its vicinity that encode receptors in…
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