In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers at Trinity College Dublin have found the secret that may help explain why some people are able to resist viral infections. The research that was published in the prestigious journal Cell Reports Medicine can be used to solve why some people get infected with Covid-19 and others remain immune.
The study of the immune response to viral infections was understood by examining the immune systems of women who were exposed to hepatitis C (HCV) through contaminated anti-D transfusions administered more than 40 years ago in Ireland.
The discovery may help to understand and advance the fundamental understanding of viral resistance to the potential development of treatments for the treatment of infected individuals.
Several thousand women in Ireland were infected with the hepatitis C virus between 1977 and 1979 as a result of contaminated anti-D, a drug administered to rhesus-negative pregnant women with rhesus-positive fetuses that are made from donated blood plasma. The drug stops the production of potentially harmful antibodies that could arise during subsequent pregnancies. Some of the anti-D used between 1977 and 1979 had hepatitis C contamination.
Three distinct populations emerged from this outbreak: those with a chronic infection, those who were cured of infection by an antibody response, and those who appeared immune to infection without producing hepatitis C antibodies.
Cliona O’Farrelly, Professor of Comparative Immunology in the Trinity School of Biochemistry and Immunology, is the lead author of the research paper. Cliona, who works at the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, said:
“We hypothesized that women who seemed to resist HCV infection must have an enhanced innate immune response, which is the ancient part of the immune system that acts as the first line of defense.
“To test this, we needed to contact women exposed to the virus more than forty years ago and ask them to help us by allowing us to study their immune systems to look for scientific clues to explain their different responses.
“After a national campaign, more than 100 women came forward and we got some unique and important insights. That so many women, many of whom have lived with medical complications for a long time, were willing to help is a testament to how much the people want to engage with science and help conduct research with the potential to make genuine and positive impacts on society. We are deeply grateful to them.”
In the end, the researchers selected 90 previously infected women and almost 40 members of the resistant group.
Then, in partnership with the Pasteur Institute in Paris, they requested blood samples from nearly 20 women in each group, which they stimulated with molecules that mimic a viral infection and activate the innate immune system.
Jamie Sugrue, a doctoral candidate in the Trinity School of Biochemistry and Immunology, is the first author of the research paper. He said:
“By comparing the response of resistant women with those who were infected, we found that resistant donors had an enhanced type I interferon response after stimulation. Type I interferons are a key family of antiviral immune mediators that play an important role in defense against viruses, including hepatitis C and SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19.
“We believe that the increased production of type I interferon by our resistant donors, now seen almost 40 years after the original exposure to hepatitis C, is what protected them against infection.
“These findings are important as resistance to infection is largely a missed outcome after viral outbreak, mainly because it is very difficult to identify resistant people, given that they do not get sick after viral exposure, they wouldn’t necessarily know they were exposed. That’s why cohorts like this, while tragic in nature, are so valuable: they provide a unique opportunity to study the response to viral infections in a healthy population.”
The lab is currently concentrating its efforts on using these biological discoveries to dissect the genetics of viral resistance in HCV donors. His research on HCV resistance has already sparked interest in other viral diseases, such as the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19, on a global scale.
(With contributions from the ANI)
See all the business news, market news, breaking events and the latest news updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News app for daily market updates. more less
Source: news.google.com