Coronavirus study identifies ‘gain of function for efficient spread in humans’
CORONAVIRUS scientists have identified a "gain of function" in the virus, which has allowed for the "efficient spread in humans," a bombshell study revealed.
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COVID-19 has now infected nearly 120,000 people, killing more than 4,600 in the process in a devastating outbreak which has now been declared a pandemic. Italy has been placed on lockdown as the infection spreads through Europe at an alarming rate. A study released by Chinese scientists earlier this month found the origin of coronavirus could have come from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a level four biosafety laboratory 12km from the epicentre of the outbreak.
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Now, a new investigation, titled “Coronavirus 2019-nCoV contains a furin-like cleavage site absent in CoV of the same clade,” suggests it is unlike anything seen before.
Published on ScienceDirect this month, the paper reads: “In 2019, a new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infecting humans has emerged in Wuhan, China.
“Its genome has been sequenced and the genomic information promptly released.
“Despite a high similarity with the genome sequence of SARS-CoV, we identified a peculiar furin-like cleavage site of the 2019-nCoV, lacking in the other SARS-like CoVs.
For efficient spreading in the human population compared to other coronaviruses
"In this article, we discuss the possible functional consequences of this cleavage site in the viral cycle, pathogenicity and its potential implication in the development of antivirals.”
Furin is a "highly expressed" protein found in the lungs of humans that could have been used to activate a virus that previously could have only been passed between animals.
The experts believe this “peculiar furin” is an anomaly and could be used to “successfully exploit” enzymes that innate immunity in humans.
The paper goes on to explain how scientist have not seen anything like this in previous strains.
It adds: “Before the emergence of the 2019-nCoV, this important feature was not observed in other coronaviruses.
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“Strikingly, the 2019-nCoV sequence contains 12 additional nucleotides upstream of the single cleavage site.”
The paper suggests that this part of the DNA chain has evolved for “gain-of-function to the 2019-nCoV for efficient spreading in the human population compared to other coronaviruses".
It adds: “This possibly illustrates a convergent evolution pathway between unrelated CoVs.”
The medical definition for gain-of-function, also known as GOF, is a mutation that confers new or enhanced activity on a protein.
But, it can also involve genetic engineering.
According to the US National Library of Medicine, gain-of-function research, ofter simply referred to as GOF, “involves experimentation that aims or is expected to increase the transmissibility and/or virulence of pathogens.
“Such research, when conducted by responsible scientists, usually aims to improve understanding of disease-causing agents, their interaction with human hosts, and/or their potential to cause pandemics.
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