How Covid Virus Outsmarts the Body’s Immune System
How Covid Virus Outsmarts the Body’s Immune System
Japanese researchers have found that the virus causing Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, has an enzyme that can block the body’s natural defenses. This discovery may explain why Covid-19 is more contagious than previous viruses like SARS and MERS, according to experts from Kobe University.
The study focused on a molecular marker called “ISG15,” which helps prevent the virus from assembling itself by stopping its nucleocapsid proteins from coming together. However, the Covid-19 virus has an enzyme that can remove this marker, allowing the virus to assemble and reproduce, overcoming the body’s initial immune response, said virologist Shoji Ikuo in the Journal of Virology.
Although the SARS and MERS viruses also have a similar enzyme, researchers found that the one in Covid-19 is more effective. This may explain why Covid-19 spreads so easily compared to these earlier viruses, Shoji explained.
The innate immune system is the body’s first line of defense against viruses, stopping them from entering, multiplying, and spreading. While the SARS and MERS outbreaks were more contained, Covid-19 quickly spread across the globe, even reaching remote areas like Antarctica. Although the virus continues to mutate, the severity of infections has lessened due to mass vaccinations and herd immunity.
These findings could lead to better treatments for Covid-19 and similar future viruses. “If we can block the enzyme that removes the ISG15 marker, we might develop new antiviral drugs,” the researchers said. They also suggested that future therapies could target the nucleocapsid protein directly or use a combination of these approaches.