Very widespread in the population, this genetic variant is linked to the receptors of the immune system.
- Our genetic heritage contributes to the risk of developing a serious form of Covid-19.
- This genetic variation has become widespread in the population.
We owe a lot to Neanderthal man: even our risk of developing a severe form of Covid-19. In the fall of 2020, Hugo Zeberg and Svante Pääbo, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, located in Leipzig, Germany, demonstrated that Neanderthals passed on to us a genetic risk factor for Covid-19. A few months later, they continued their work on this genetic variant, and found that it has a protective effect on another virus, HIV. Their discovery is published in the specialized journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Protection linked to an immune system receptor
“This major genetic risk factor for Covid-19 is so common that I started to wonder if it could actually be good for something, like providing protection against another infectious disease.“, explains Hugo Zeberg, who is the sole author of this new study. It is located in an area of chromosome 3 that consists of many genes. Around it there are several genes whose role is related to the receptors of Among them, the CCR5 receptor is used by the HIV virus to infect white blood cells.During his research, Hugo Zeberg discovered that people with the risk factor for Covid-19 inherited from Neanderthal had fewer CCR5 receptors He then hypothesized that these individuals had a lower risk of being infected with HIV.To test it, he used data from three biobanks: the German researcher found that carriers of the genetic variant had a 27% reduced risk of contracting HIV.”This shows how a genetic variant can be both good and bad news: bad news if someone contracts Covid-19, good news because it offers protection against HIV infection“, comments Hugo Zeberg.
Questions remain
Beyond this exciting discovery, the scientist continues to wonder about this genetic variation. He recalls that the appearance of HIV and its spread dates back to the 20th century, which does not explain why this genetic variation became common 10,000 years ago. “We now know that this risky variant of Covid-19 offers protection against HIV. But it was probably protection against another disease that increased in frequency after the last ice age.”supposes Hugo Zeberg.
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