Neanderthal genes linked to development of life-threatening form of Covid: Learn how to check if you’ve got them
In the past, Neanderthals inhabited caves, subsisted on hunting, and exhibited greater resilience than contemporary humans. However, a recent study has revealed that individuals possessing Neanderthal genes are twice as likely to develop a life-threatening variant of Covid. DNA from this extinct species, which disappeared approximately 40,000 years ago, has been linked to autoimmune disorders, type 2 diabetes, and prostate cancer.
A group of Italian researchers discovered that individuals with three Neanderthal gene variations were twice as likely to experience severe pneumonia and three times as likely to require hospitalization with a ventilator after contracting the virus. Although these findings were obtained through experimentation, individuals may determine the extent of their Neanderthal DNA by utilizing commercial ancestry tests. Neanderthals were a close human ancestor that mysteriously vanished 40,000 years ago.
This species coexisted with early humans in Africa for thousands of years before migrating to Europe approximately 300,000 years ago. Humans subsequently arrived in Eurasia around 48,000 years ago and interbred with Neanderthals, resulting in the appearance of certain genes in modern humans. The Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, a non-profit organization, led the new study, which examined a sample of nearly 1,200 individuals in the Bergamo province, the epicenter of the pandemic in early 2020. The study was published in the journal iScience.
It has been discovered by scientists that 33 percent of individuals in Bergamo who possess the Neanderthal haplotype, a collection of DNA variants along a single chromosome that are typically inherited together, have developed severe cases of Covid. The sample region chosen for this study was the Bergamo province, where more than 75 percent of the participants were born, due to the high number of severe cases and deaths associated with Covid.
In March 2020, the city of Bergamo, which has a population of 120,000, experienced 670 deaths, while the province of the same name saw almost 6,000 deaths, which is five to six times higher than the usual toll for that time of year. During the experiment, the team conducted an ORIGN test, which involved analyzing the ancestry of each subject. The study identified three variants on chromosome 3, known as the 3p21.31 locus.
According to the study, “The lead variant at this locus lies in an intron of LZTFL1 and is in linkage with markers spanning a cluster of inflammatory genes, including CCR9, CXCR6, and XCR1.” A 2020 study yielded similar results, indicating that possessing Neanderthal genes could increase one’s susceptibility to severe Covid. Researchers discovered that the genetic signature was linked to a more severe illness in a study of 3,199 hospital patients with coronavirus in Italy and Spain.
According to the lead author, Professor Hugo Zeberg, from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the risk of contracting Covid-19 increases by 60 to 70 percent if an individual carries one copy of the Neanderthal variant, and three times the risk if they possess two copies – one from each parent. Subsequent studies suggest that the risk increase may be even higher, with a two-fold increase for one copy and up to a five-fold increase for two copies.
The gene variant was initially discovered in the remains of a Neanderthal in Croatia approximately 50,000 years ago and is present in millions of modern-day humans. However, not all individuals possess this variant, with the highest prevalence among people of South Asian ethnicity, of whom around 50 percent carry it. This disparity may contribute to the observed differences in Covid-19 severity among various populations. In Europe, the variant is less common, with only 16 percent of individuals carrying it. Bangladesh has the highest number of carriers at 63 percent.
