Groups such as universities in the United Kingdom have succeeded in identifying five genes that appear to be involved in the aggravation of patients with the new coronavirus, and are attracting attention as they will lead to the development of new treatments.
The study was published in the British scientific journal Nature by groups such as the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.
The group analyzed the genetic information of 2,244 critically ill patients with the new coronavirus treated at 208 hospitals in the United Kingdom and compared them to the general public.
As a result, it was possible to identify that the functions of the five genes seem to be involved in the aggravation of patients.
Of these, one of the genes involved in the protein called interferon, which regulates immunity, was found to reduce the risk of aggravation as the function becomes stronger, and the gene called "tyrosine kinase 2" related to substances with antiviral activity It turns out that the stronger the work, the more likely it is to become severe.
Some of the five genes can be regulated by drugs used in other diseases, so the group said, "The results of this study may lead to the development of new treatments. We will continue our research by increasing the number of patients targeted so that we can investigate the relationship between aggravation and genes in more detail. "