It's not dangerous

Is the coronavirus embedded in the human genome?

Der Spiegel, Gelangt das Coronavirus in menschliches Erbgut? Translation: Inopressa

"A recently published study is causing a debate in the scientific world about whether the genetic material of the coronavirus can get into human DNA. A group of researchers found small individual fragments of the genetic material of the pathogen Sars-CoV-2 in the genome of human cells. But scientists emphasize that it is not dangerous," the German magazine reports Der Spiegel.

"It is impossible to recover viable viruses from tiny fragments, nor can they lead to infection," reports a research group led by Rudolf Jenisch from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge (Massachusetts, USA). However, fragments of the genetic material of the virus can explain why in some people PCR tests continue to give positive results even a few weeks or months after infection," the publication notes.

"Cases where people are infected twice within a few months are still considered rare. (...) Also, an analysis published in the scientific journal Plos One based on data from Americans whose test result was again positive showed that 90% of the subjects were not infected again. At least 60 days have passed between two positive tests. Presumably, parts of the virus remained in the human body during all this time. But how?".

"It is possible that parts of the genetic material of the coronavirus really got into human genes. However, not all scientists are convinced of the validity of this theory."

"The human genome consists of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)," explains the publication. – In the case of RNA viruses, which include Sars-CoV-2, the genetic information consists of RNA (ribonucleic acid), which has a slightly different structure. In order for viral RNA to get into human genetic material, it must be converted into DNA by biological tools, and then embedded in the genetic material."

"Some pathogens, such as the HIV virus that causes AIDS, can convert their RNA into DNA. Whether coronaviruses are capable of this remains in question."

"In a new study, scientists reported that they were able to detect fragments of coronavirus in the genome of people who were infected with the virus some time ago in very rare cases. In addition, under laboratory conditions, they managed to embed short fragments of the viral genome into the genome of grown human cells."

"However, the researchers used laboratory-created cells that produce particularly large amounts of the so-called Line-1 reverse transcriptase. This enzyme embeds viral RNA into the human genome, Oliver Weichenrieder from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Tubingen said in an interview with the Scientific Media Center. (...) But in ordinary human cells, the activity of this crucial enzyme is extremely low," explained virus expert Joachim Denner from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

"This debate has fueled rumors that mRNA-based vaccine components can also get into the human genome. However, science does not yet know the mechanism of how this should happen. Even if the coronavirus manages to convert its RNA genome into DNA - and the study is not proof of this – it will not make any difference for mRNA–based vaccines."

"They do not contain either the virus or the entire genetic material of the pathogen, but only a small part of it. Such RNA fragments are present in large numbers in human cells and are not embedded in the genetic material."

"The probability that the RNA vaccine from Sars-CoV-2 is fragmentally converted into DNA and embedded in the cell genome is almost zero," emphasizes virus expert Denner. (...). The random integration of Sars-CoV-2 RNA into the DNA of some infected human cells is, of course, interesting from an academic point of view Of course, it should be studied in the future by science," said biochemist Weichenrieder, "but I don't see any danger to human health in this," Der Spiegel reports.

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