Potential secret to viral resistance unearthed
Between 1977-79 in Ireland, several thousand women were exposed to the hepatitis C virus through contaminated anti-D, which is a medication made using plasma from donated blood and given to Rhesus negative women who are pregnant with a Rhesus positive foetus. The medication prevents the development of antibodies that could be dangerous in subsequent pregnancies. Some of the anti-D used during the 1977-79 period was contaminated with hepatitis C.
From this outbreak, three groups of people were identifiable: those who were chronically infected; those who cleared the infection with an antibody response; and those who appeared protected against infection without making antibodies against hepatitis C.
Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have unearthed a secret that may explain why some people are able to resist viral infections, having screened the immune systems of women exposed to hepatitis C (HCV) through contaminated anti-D transfusions given over 40 years ago in Ireland.
In collaboration with the Institut Pasteur in Paris they then invited almost 20 women in each group to donate a blood sample that they stimulated with molecules that mimic viral infection and lead to activation of the innate immune system.
Jamie Sugrue, PhD Candidate in Trinity's School of Biochemistry and Immunology, is first author of the research article. He said:
"By comparing the response of the resistant women to those who became infected, we found that resistant donors had an enhanced type I interferon response after stimulation. Type I interferons are a key family of antiviral immune mediators that play an important role in defence against viruses including hepatitis C and SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19.
"We think that the increased type I interferon production by our resistant donors, seen now almost 40 years after the original exposure to hepatitis C, is what protected them against infection.
"These findings are important as resistance to infection is very much an overlooked outcome following viral outbreak, primarily because identifying resistant individuals is very difficult - since they do not become sick after viral exposure, they wouldn't necessarily know that they were exposed. That's why cohorts like this, though tragic in nature, are so valuable - they provide a unique opportunity to study the response to viral infections in an otherwise healthy population."
Reference:
Cliona O'Farrelly et al,Cell Reports Medicine, DOI 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100804.
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