7 ms·
One could imagine this technique also working in latent reserves of coronavirus harbored by people who have become infected.
by doomlaser 6y ago
One could imagine this technique also working in latent reserves of coronavirus harbored by people who have become infected.
- 01100011 6y agoI'd really like to see what happens when we eliminate HERVs (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1187282/#:~:text=Human%20endogenous%20retroviruses%20(HERVs)%20represent,generations%20in%20a%20Mendelian%20manner https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1187282/#:~:tex....) from our genome.
- garmaine 6y agoIt'd kill us. There are vital parts of our genome that come from such viruses. The placenta, for example, forms its host-compatible interface layer with the mother's uterus using a virus-derived protein. So it is believed that all live-birth mammals derive from an animal that accidentally incorporated viral DNA into its genome.
- garmaine 6y agoI don't think coronavirus hides itself in the same way? The long-lived herpes DNA folds itself up compactly inside the nerve cells, which is very unique capability specific to that type of virus. Attacking these dormant genes requires some specific molecular machinery to either keep these genes in their dormant state (current antiviral therapies), or to open and snip them up (TFA). I'm pretty sure coronavirus reservoirs are just regular virus sitting around in parts of the body the immune system doesn't reach. Different problem.
- est31 6y agoYeah Sars-Cov2 is a RNA virus. RNA is far more unstable in the long term. It needs replication to survive for longer times, even if it's only at low levels. Generally in most people, the immune system can clear out the virus itself sooner or later completely. Long term symptoms come from tissue damage. Only the small group of immuno compromised people form an exception (Think HIV, organ transplants, etc). Here, the immune system is not strong enough to get rid of the virus completely, thus it stays around for longer times. But they form a tiny subset, and therapies for them would look different.
- garmaine 6y agoVery important to address these cases though, since it is believed that this is the source of the new variants that we are seeing now. Patients infected for months on end provide an ideal darwinian environment for the emergence of immune-escape variants.
- est31 6y agoIndeed you are right, there have been reports of precisely this happening in such patients: https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-01-30/long-term-covid-19-patients-are-incubating-dangerous-new-coronavirus-strains https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-01-30/long-term-c... That's unrelated from my general point though. The virus is gone in almost all people reasonably quickly.
- newsbinator 6y agoI wonder if this would work for rabies.
- hannob 6y agoIs there such a thing as dormant rabies? My impression was that most people die from rabies if they get it, so you really want to vaccinate people with any risk of getting rabies. And the vaccine is amazingly effective. (+ you can still give the vaccine once people are infected if you're fast.)
- newsbinator 6y agoThere've been documented cases of a person dying from rabies up to 8 years after infection.