People with Neanderthal genes should be more careful about the COVID-19 virus. A new study suggests that they are at higher risk of suffering from a severe disease.
COVID in Humans With Neanderthal Genes
Those with Neanderthal genes are twice as likely to develop a deadly form of COVID. The DNA from the species that went extinct 4,000 years ago is associated with autoimmune disease, type 2 diabetes, and prostate cancer.
Researchers from Italy discovered that those with three Neanderthal gene variants had a doubled risk of developing serious pneumonia and a tripled risk of needing to be hospitalized on a ventilator after getting the virus.
Even though the results were from an experiment, people can use commercial ancestry tests to determine how much Neanderthal DNA they possess.
In early 2020, the Bergamo province served as the epidemic's epicenter, and researchers from the nonprofit Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research undertook a study that examined a sample of close to 1,200 residents there. They discovered that severe cases of COVID occurred in 33% of Bergamo residents who had the Neanderthal haplotype, a collection of variations along one chromosome that frequently runs in families.
The province of Bergamo was selected as the sample area because of the severe instances and fatalities linked to COVID-19, and more than 75% of the subjects were born there.
In this metropolis of 120,000 people, there were 670 fatalities in March 2020 alone and nearly 6,000 in the neighboring province with the same name. This is five or six times the annual average.
The scientists ran an ORIGN test during the experiment that involved tracing each subject's lineage. The three variations were located at the 3p21.31 locus on chromosome 3.
The study found that the primary mutation at this locus is linked to markers spanning a group of inflammatory genes, including CCR9, CXCR6, and XCR1, and is located in an intron of the gene LZTFL1.
According to senior author Professor Hugo Zeberg of the Swedish Karolinska Institutet, the risk rises by 60 to 70 percent if you have one copy of the Neanderthal variety and by three times if you have two copies-one from each parent. Recent studies estimate the risk increase to be considerably larger, with a risk increase of up to five times with two copies and twice with one copy.
This variant is most prevalent in people of South Asian ancestry, who carry it in about 50% of cases. Meanwhile, it is less prevalent in Europe, where 16 percent of the population takes it. Bangladesh has the highest percentage, with 63 percent of all carriers.
Neanderthal DNA Linked to an Increased Risk of Viking Disease
Neanderthal genes are linked to various health problems. Another study suggested that it's also associated with an increased risk of developing Viking Disease. The condition, permanently bent fingers, characterizes Dupuytren's disease.
The research advances knowledge of the intricate relationships between various human forebears and the genetic legacies left by Neanderthals. It underlines the genetic resemblance between current humans and our prehistoric ancestors and emphasizes the significance of Neanderthal and Homo sapiens interbreeding in shaping the incidence of specific diseases.
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