塩基配列差、重症化に関係か　新型コロナ、日本人ら１割保有―慶大など

　慶応大や東京医科歯科大、京都大などの共同研究グループは１７日、新型コロナウイルスの重症化に、免疫機能に関係する遺伝子付近にある塩基配列の違いが関わっている可能性があると発表した。日本人を含む東アジア人の１割が配列の違いを有し、保有する６５歳未満は重症化リスクが２倍になったという。研究グループは「重症化を防ぐ薬の開発につながる可能性もある」としている。
　研究グループは、慶応大の研究者らが昨年５月に設立した「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」。各地の病院から集めた感染者の血液検体の全遺伝情報（ゲノム）を解析し、６５歳未満の重症患者４４０人と、新型コロナ発生以前に集めていた６５歳未満の２３７７人を比較した。（2021/05/17-16:10）

The difference in a base sequence near a gene related to immune functions may be linked to the severity of the COVID-19 disease blamed on the novel coronavirus, a Japanese research team said Monday.
   According to the group, comprising researchers from institutions including Keio University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and Kyoto University, 10 pct of East Asians, including Japanese people, have the different base sequence.
   Among people aged under 65, the risk of developing serious COVID-19 symptoms was twice as high for those with the gene sequence compared with those who do not have it, the team said. The finding may lead to the development of a drug to prevent severe COVID-19 symptoms, it said. The base sequence in question is rarely seen among Western people, the group said.
   The team, set up in May last year, analyzed the genome of blood samples collected from COVID-19 patients at hospitals around Japan, and compared data from 440 seriously ill patients under 65 with those from 2,377 people under 65 that were taken before the coronavirus outbreak.
   The group discovered that people with a specific sequence for a base near the Dock2 gene, which is closely linked to immune functions such as lymphocyte activation, accounted for a significant portion of people with severe symptoms.