Pangolins have been making headlines since the coronavirus pandemic started. This is because they are believed to be the animals responsible for transmitting the coronavirus from bats to humans.

According to a recent study, pangolins lack two virus-sensing genes, causing them to carry a specific virus without suffering from it. Scientists say that these genes sense when a virus enters the body and raises the alarm, triggering an immune response. In simple terms, pangolins could be thought of as 'silent carriers' of the virus.

Scientists are not sure how the pangolins are capable of doing this, but say this could help determine a plausible approach in beating COVID-19.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

The Connection Between Pangolins and COVID-19

One of the most renowned origin theories for the coronavirus is that it transferred from a pangolin to a human at a wet market in Wuhan, which is known for selling exotic wildlife.

Scientists suspected that the bat coronavirus infected another animal, an "intermediate host," which then transmitted the virus to humans. Fingers were pointed at pangolins for being this host.

To test the theory, researchers have studied the genome sequence of pangolins and compared it to other mammals such as humans, cats, dogs, and cattle.

Leopold Eckhart, one of the authors of the study from the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, said that they found that pangolins have survived through millions of years of evolution without possessing any type of antiviral defense that is used by all other mammals.

He added that further studies of pangolins would reveal how they manage to survive viral infections. It could also help in the development of new treatment strategies for people with viral infections, he says.

Time for Pangolins to Redeem Themselves

After being blamed for transmitting the virus, pangolins can now reclaim their reputation, not for being a carrier of the virus, but for aiding and contributing to finding a cure to the disease.

In humans, COVID-19 can cause an inflammatory immune response, which deteriorates a patient's condition further, called a cytokine storm.

Suppression of gene signaling using drugs could be a possible treatment option for severe cases of coronavirus, the authors of the study said.

However, Dr. Eckhart warned that the approach could pave the way to secondary infections. He adds that the main challenge is to reduce the response to the pathogen while controlling the virus.

He says that an overstimulated immune system can be controlled by reducing the intensity or by altering the timing of the defense reaction.

Although the study was able to identify genetic differences between pangolins and other mammals, it did not explore the effect of those differences on the antiviral response.

As of now, scientists don't fully comprehend how pangolins can survive coronavirus. They only know that the lack of their two signaling genes might have something to do with the process. They believe that further studies need to be conducted to understand how pangolins can help in stopping the virus entirely.