Biologists from Australia and the United States, studying the proteomes of various peoples of the world, have found proteins specific to coronaviruses in East Asians. The discovery made it possible to establish that adaptation to coronavirus infections in the inhabitants of the region began 25 thousand years ago, according to a study published by bioRxiv.
Throughout evolutionary history, the composition of proteins in every human population has changed. Since proteins physically interact with viruses entering the body, after each viral epidemic, proteins specific to a specific pathogen are stored in the proteome of the population, transmitting RIA Novosti.
Thus, researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia, the Australian National University and the University of Arizona in the United States studied the proteomes of 26 different populations of people from five continents and selected proteins that strongly interact with coronaviruses (CoV-VIP) – those that are involved in immunity or are used by viruses to capturing host cells.
Scientists have found in East Asians a unique set of 42 CoV-VIPs specific to coronaviruses, acting against this group of pathogens three times more active than other proteins. The age of the most ancient CoV-VIPs was estimated by the authors at 900 generations. Translated into years, this means that the adaptive response to coronaviruses, reflected in the evolution of proteins, first appeared in the population of the region about 25 thousand years ago, and then was updated several times.
According to the authors, epidemics of coronavirus infections in this part of the world occurred regularly in the period from 25 to 5 thousand years ago, as a result of which a certain hereditary immunity was formed in the population. “Our results highlight the need to incorporate evolutionary genomic approaches into standard medical research protocols. By revealing the “personalities” of ancient pathogenic enemies, these methods increase the ability of scientists to predict and thus prevent future epidemics, ”the researchers note in their article.
The authors expressed the hope that the population differences they identified in relation to the new coronavirus infection will help develop the right epidemiological strategy, target vaccine distribution and adjust treatment methods.
Previously, scientists at the National Hospital of Denmark during the study identifiedhow effective masks are in protecting healthy people from coronavirus. The study was conducted before the introduction of restrictions in Denmark amid the pandemic. More than 6 thousand people became participants, who were divided into two groups. People from the first group wore masks in public places, others did not. A month later, scientists analyzed the data and found that in the group where the volunteers wore masks, 1.8% were infected with the coronavirus, in the second group – 2.1%.
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