escape immune systems.
https://www.kwtx.com/2021/12/16/texas-am-researchers-discover-covid-19-mechanism-that-helps-it-escape-immune-system/
https://www.kwtx.com/2021/12/16/texas-am-researchers-discover-covid-19-mechanism-that-helps-it-escape-immune-system/
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - Researchers at Texas A&M have recently discovered a mechanism in COVID-19 that explains how it can escape our immune systems and replicate so intensely in the human body.
It's been well-known for some time now that COVID-19 causes much more significant illness than other coronaviruses. A team of researchers at Texas A&M, led by Texas A&M Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology Professor Koichi Kobayashi, say they've found the protein in COVID-19 that is able to suppress that gene and make it harder for the body to detect.
"What we found is that the virus has the ability to decrease the amount of NLRC5 and also it suppresses the function of NLRC5," Kobayashi said.
NLRC5 is a gene in cells that helps control virus infection so it is unable to replicate. It determines the amount of another gene known as major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes that create a pathway for ridding the body of viruses. Kobayashi says MHC class I genes help our body with longer term immunity in the days after infection, as opposed to the hours.
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"Every cell has MHC class I, and if they are infected, viral antigen is presented on the MHC class I," Kobayashi said. "That means that immune cell can't see it and the infected cell can't be recognized by our immune system."
Kobayashi, who is also a professor at Hokkaido University in Japan, says COVID patients have a normal level of MHC class I, but the level of MHC class I should be boosted when someone is infected by a pathogen.
"I'm hoping that because we found the mechanism, we can modify this so that we can have a little bit of a boost in our immune system to fight off the virus," Kobayashi said. "The patient may be cured quicker than normal, and we also may be able to prevent the severe case."
"The potential is you could find a drug that would hinder this protein, and by hindering this protein, it would allow the body's immune system to function more effectively and rid our bodies of the infection more quickly," CapRock Health System Chief Medical Officer Dr. Long Young said.