Our genotype can influence the likelihood of contracting tick-borne encephalitis

The location of the tick does not determine whether someone gets encephalitis. It's different with genes. There is a slight confusion in the DNA that contributes to an increased risk of infection, but also a higher likelihood that the course of "tick-borne" disease will be severe.

A general condition, an encounter with an infected tick, or the ability of the virus to cause disease. These are examples of what influences whether someone gets tick-borne encephalitis. It also includes our genetic makeup. European scientists, including those in the Czech Republic, have found and documented a change in DNA that contributes to the outbreak of the disease.

There is one particular DNA substitution that, once you have it, predisposes you to be more likely to be susceptible to tick-borne encephalitis. Moreover, if you do get it, it is more likely to be more severe, says virologist Daniel Růžek, who works at the Biological Centre of the Academy of Sciences, Masaryk University or the Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine.

DNA as an alphabet

Why does Daniel Růžek talk about letters in the context of DNA? Because genetic information is an alphabet of four letters, he explains. It is made up of strings of four letters that repeat in different sequences. Specifically, A, G, C and T. The letters denote the names of bases called nucleotides (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine). Nucleotides determine the order of amino acids in a protein - three letters in a row each predetermine the code for one amino acid.

The DNA substitution in question was described by scientists as part of a 10-year European study, which was also worked on by experts from the Czech Republic, including Daniel Růžek's team. He has been researching tick-borne encephalitis and the parasite itself for many years and has been awarded for, among other things, identifying several groups of substances effective against the virus that causes the disease.

In the case of DNA substitution, there is very little variation. In the view of a virologist or geneticist, it is a substitution of one letter at the level of one of the amino acids. Amino acids are the structural components of proteins, i.e. proteins. Proteins then have different roles in the body - for example, structural, structural or functional. Professor Růžek does not yet specify what exactly the confusion looks like and which letter is involved because the results of the European study have not yet been published in the scientific press. The scientific community and the general public are therefore yet to learn about them officially.

Discovery could facilitate treatment

Although the discovery by European scientists has not yet left the labs, it has the potential to help. It is possible that DNA tests could be used by infectiologists in a few years to treat patients infected with cough encephalitis. We expect that this will allow us to test them so that we know whether or not they have an increased risk of severe disease, says Aleš Chrdle, vice-chairman of the Society of Infectious Medicine and head of the Infectious Diseases Department at the České Budějovice Hospital. He works with Daniel Růžek because research into the disease continues, although now only at the domestic, not European, level. Patients from the Infectious Diseases Department in České Budějovice therefore have the opportunity to participate in the research, which, according to the chief, they welcome because they want to help others.

In the České Budějovice hospital alone, which is located in the region with the highest number of domestic infections, 70 to 100 patients are hospitalised with tick-borne encephalitis per year. Today, however, doctors are unable to predict which of them will be seriously affected by the disease and which will eventually come down with a milder course. Genetic testing could change that in a few years. If we knew that, we would tailor treatment accordingly, explains Aleš Chrdle. And discoveries in the field of genetics could shift the way we treat ourselves.

But there is still a long way to go. The research result has given us one answer, but at least two more questions: how much will we be able to rely on this method? How much will we be able to influence the treatment?" points out Dr. Chrdle, adding that clarity will be clear in a few years.

Source: https://www.vitalia.cz/