RE: Interferon treatment may reduce severity of COVID-19 in people with certain genetic factors21 Jul 2022 23:08
Thought it worth highlighting this section.
‘those with the risk OAS1 haplotype (AAA for rs1131454-A, rs10774671-A and rs2660-A) would benefit from this treatment the most because of their impaired ability to clear the virus without treatment. This haplotype is very common, with a 57% frequency in the general European population, 59% in East-Asian individuals and 15% in individuals of African ancestry.’
Full section including the above text:
We observed a decrease in SARS-CoV-2 expression after treating cells with interferons (either IFN-ß or IFN-?) before or after infection, suggesting that interferons can overcome insufficient viral clearance. Indeed, our exploratory analysis of a clinical trial with pegIFN-?1 revealed that OAS1 haplotypes were associated with the rate of SARS-CoV-2 clearance in the placebo group, but not the interferon treatment group. Thus, our results suggest that early treatment with interferons could compensate for SARS-CoV-2 clearance impaired due to OAS1 variants. Although this treatment accelerated viral clearance in all patients, those with the risk OAS1 haplotype (AAA for rs1131454-A, rs10774671-A and rs2660-A) would benefit from this treatment the most because of their impaired ability to clear the virus without treatment. This haplotype is very common, with a 57% frequency in the general European population, 59% in East-Asian individuals and 15% in individuals of African ancestry. In our clinical trial, patients were treated with a single subcutaneous injection of pegIFN-?1 (ref. 26). Due to the restricted expression of its receptors, IFN-?1, a type III interferon, is well tolerated, without causing systemic side effects or promoting inflammatory cytokine release, which are often associated with the administration of type I interferons39. Recently, preliminary results of a phase 3 clinical trial (TOGETHER trial, NCT04727424, 1,936 COVID-19 outpatients treated with pegIFN-?1) showed a significant reduction of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death40. Inhaled nebulized type I interferons, IFNß-1a41 and IFNa2b42,43, are also being tested as an early treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection, with promising results.