Park Chung-gu and Chonnam National University Joint Research Team Discover Domestic COVID-19 Infection Genes

Expectations for Support in Developing Therapeutic New Drugs

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A research result identifying gene groups closely related to COVID-19 virus infection has been released, which is expected to aid in the development of treatment drugs better suited for South Korea.

Chonnam National University announced on the 4th that Professor Park Chungu's joint research team discovered gene groups closely related to coronavirus infection through big data analysis of transcriptomes from domestic COVID-19 infected patients.

Professor Park Chungu's team published these research findings on September 28 in the international academic journal Journal of Korean Medical Science (JKMS), based on joint research with Professor Kim Yeonsook's team at Chungnam National University Hospital and Professor Cho Eunkyung's team at Chungnam National University College of Medicine.

Big data analysis comparing immune cell changes among 8 severe and 20 mild COVID-19 patients in South Korea with 20 healthy individuals confirmed a significant increase in the expression of signaling molecules in the Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 subpathway closely related to bacterial sepsis, as well as inflammatory cytokines and chemokines.

Although this phenomenon has been reported in several countries, this is the first time it has been confirmed in domestic patients.

In particular, in severe patients, it was confirmed that the antimicrobial gene protein (S100A9), produced in the liver when infected by specific bacteria or viruses, was significantly increased.

This suggests the possibility that the SARS-CoV2 virus stimulates danger signals such as S100A9 in the human body, causing systemic inflammatory responses similar to bacterial sepsis, thereby contributing to immune pathology.

The research team also revealed that when healthy individuals' immune cells were treated simultaneously with COVID-19 antigen and S100A9, the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines significantly increased compared to treatment with the virus antigen alone.

Professor Park Chungu stated, "By securing gene information closely related to coronavirus patients, this can serve as a foundation for treatment and new drug development research for coronavirus-infected patients."

Professor Park Chung-gu. Photo by Chonnam National University

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