People who carry a version of a gene acquired from Neanderthals are at a lower risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death from Covid-19, a new study has found.
The gene, called OAS1, was introduced into the human genome after our ancestors bred with the human kinship that became extinct about 60,000 years ago.
The OAS1 gene controls a protein of the same name, which is involved in the body’s response to viruses.
The version acquired from Neanderthals is less common in society, but it offers more protection against the coronavirus, researchers say.
The finding contradicts previous research, which found that accumulation of acquired Neanderthal genes increases the risk of becoming seriously ill from Covid-19.
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A specific version of a gene, called OAS1, acquired from Neanderthals reduces the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death from Covid-19, a new study has found
The study, led by McGill University in Canada, took a close look at the genetic code that gives rise to different versions of OAS1.
There is one main location within the gene, called rs10774671. The most common form is the ‘A’ variant but the ancestral version from Neanderthals is called ‘G’.
‘The ancestral variant (rs10774671-G) is the main allele in African populations and was established in Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes,’ the researchers write.
The difference between the two gene types is that A leads to many different types (or isoforms) of OAS1 proteins produced in different sizes, whereas G leads to a large extent of one specific isoform of the OAS1 protein, called p46.
‘The extent to which each of us is of one isoform seems to be determined by one mutation in the genetic code of the protein-encoding gene, that is, the division in the genome in which the plan for the build this protein, ‘said study author Dr Maik Pietzner from Cambridge University told MailOnline.
The p46 version of the protein is longer than the others, and has higher antiviral activity than other types of OAS1, the researchers say.
When people have high levels of the p46 version of OAS1, which is produced by the Neanderthal gene, they have less than a third of the risk of becoming infected as someone with low levels of p46 OAS1, the data ‘praise.
And if they do get the disease, these people have only a nine percent risk of hospitalization and five percent of the risk of developing ‘really bad’ Covid as someone with low levels of p46.
This gene was introduced into human genomes after our ancestors bred with the now extinct human relative who lived about 60,000 years ago.
The G form of the gene first entered Homo sapiens through the dalliances of the ancestor by our sister species thousands of years ago, and has survived to the present day.
It lasted so long because of its ability to fight disease, offering a survival benefit.
‘This protective form of OAS1 is present in sub-Saharan Africans but was lost when today’s European ancestors emigrated from Africa,’ said study co-author Brent Richards of the Jewish General Hospital and McGill University in Montreal, according to Reuters.
‘It was reintroduced to the people of Europe through the union of Neanderthals.’
The researchers believe that drugs that target the OAS1 gene and increase the amount of p46 in the system could lead to an effective treatment for Covid-19.
A previous study from the University of Edinburgh identified five genes that adversely affect patients’ chances of surviving a Covid-19 seizure.
One of these was a common version of OAS1 (variable A), confirming the notion that the type of OAS1 gene a person possesses can play a major role in disease progression and severity.
At the same time, a previous study found that some genes inherited from Neanderthals may adversely affect the chances of survival of patients with coronavirus.
Researchers from Germany and Sweden found that a specific collection of Neanderthal genes had been linked to an increased risk of Covid-19 death.
In a study of 3,199 hospital patients with coronavirus in Italy and Spain, they found that this genetic signature was linked to a more serious disease.
They found that people who developed Covid-19 so badly that they needed an air conditioner were 70 percent more likely to have the genetic difference.