A new study published in the science magazine Nature has revealed why some people did not get the corona virus i.e. Covid-19 despite coming in contact with infected people? Researchers conducted an experiment for the first time in the world, in which they deliberately infected healthy volunteers with the pre-alpha strain of SARS-CoV-2.
They found that those who can resist infection have a much faster immune response in their nasal cells than those who get sick. In this response, mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells become active and white blood cells decline. This clears the virus before it can spread the infection. The study also found that the expression of a gene called HLA-DQA2 increases in the nasal cells of those who can resist infection.
Professor Christopher Chiu, from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London, led the COVID-19 Human Challenge Study. He said, “This research paper highlights the value of the powerful, cutting-edge approaches applied through collaboration in the world’s first SARS-CoV-2 human challenge study.
This program of research continues to provide unique insights into how the immune system protects us from infection that cannot be achieved in any other setting.
He added, “Not only will these findings have a significant impact on the development of next-generation interventions for SARS-CoV-2, but they should also be generalized to other future outbreaks and pandemics.”
