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  • New Study Suggests Cannabis Does Not Help Opioid Use Disorder | High Times

    New Study Suggests Cannabis Does Not Help Opioid Use Disorder | High Times

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    A long-term study on opioid addiction and cannabis use found little to no evidence that using cannabis can help addicts reduce or stop their long-term intake of illicit opioids. 

    The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, was led by researchers at the University of Sydney and followed over 600 heroin addicts for up to 20 years, monitoring their cannabis and heroin intake at regular intervals to try and associate a relationship, positive or negative, between the two. 

    “The Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS) recruited 615 people with heroin dependence in 2001 and 2002 and reinterviewed them at 3, 12, 24, and 36 months as well as 11 and 18–20 years after baseline,” the study said. “Heroin and cannabis use were assessed at each time point using the Opiate Treatment Index. A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model analysis was conducted to identify within-person relationships between cannabis use and heroin use at subsequent follow-ups.”

    The results of the study did not find cannabis to be a statistically significant factor in reducing or ceasing a person’s opioid use, despite anecdotal evidence from addicts who claim the plant helps them use less opioids or stop using them altogether. The lead author of the study credited these misconceptions to the way previous studies were conducted, in that they only followed addicts for a short time and did not examine long-term impacts.

    “Our investigation shows that cannabis use remains common among this population, but it may not be an effective long term strategy for reducing opioid use ,” says lead author Dr. Jack Wilson, from The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, at the University of Sydney.

    “There are claims that cannabis may help decrease opioid use or help people with opioid use disorders keep up with treatment. But it’s crucial to note those studies examine short-term impact, and focus on treatment of chronic pain and pain management, rather than levels of opioid use in other contexts.”

    The study actually found data that indicated cannabis use may lead to further opioid use, particularly around the two-three year period of the study. 

    “After accounting for a range of demographic variables, other substance use, and mental and physical health measures, an increase in cannabis use 24 months after baseline was significantly associated with an increase in heroin use at 36 months,” the study said. 

    That said, the study did not go so far as to make a claim that cannabis use may increase heroin use, it merely mentioned the data. Rather, the results section of the study indicated that there simply was not a significant enough relationship in the data to draw any conclusive conclusions, if you will. 

    “Although there was some evidence of a significant relationship between cannabis and heroin use at earlier follow-ups, this was sparse and inconsistent across time points. Overall, there was insufficient evidence to suggest a unidirectional or bidirectional relationship between the use of these substances,” the study said. 

    Dr. Wilson indicated in a press release from the University of Sydney that based on previous available research there does not appear to be a one-size-fits-all solution to opiate addiction, a sentiment which was further reinforced by the results of this long-term study. 

    “Opioid use disorders are complex and unlikely to be resolved by a single treatment,” Dr Wilson said. “The best way to support them is evidence-based holistic approaches that look at the bigger picture, and include physical, psychological, and pharmacotherapy therapies.”

    Previous studies have found somewhat contradictory results compared to this one but as aforementioned, none of those studies were conducted for anywhere near as long. For instance, a study conducted through the University of Connecticut found evidence that cannabis users required less opioids while recovering from a particular major neck surgery. However, the study lasted less than a year and did include data on any possible adverse outcomes that may have occurred after the study, context which is important due to the nature of addicts to sometimes stumble into opiate addiction after having them prescribed for pain.

    Additionally, a 2022 study published in Substance Use and Misuse found that around four out of five patients who were prescribed opioids self-reported in a survey that they were able to reduce or cease their opiate intake using medical cannabis. However, this study was based on one survey and did not follow anyone long-term. That said, there have been several other studies that found similar, positive results. In general, the issue of cannabis as a potential replacement for opioids appears to be a mixed bag until more research is conducted. 

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    Patrick Maravelias

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  • Superlensing without a super lens: physicists boost microscopes beyond limits

    Superlensing without a super lens: physicists boost microscopes beyond limits

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    Newswise — Ever since Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovered the world of bacteria through a microscope in the late seventeenth century, humans have tried to look deeper into the world of the infinitesimally small.

    There are, however, physical limits to how closely we can examine an object using traditional optical methods. This is known as the ‘diffraction limit’ and is determined by the fact that light manifests as a wave. It means a focused image can never be smaller than half the wavelength of light used to observe an object.

    Attempts to break this limit with “super lenses” have all hit the hurdle of extreme visual losses, making the lenses opaque. Now physicists at the University of Sydney have shown a new pathway to achieve superlensing with minimal losses, breaking through the diffraction limit by a factor of nearly four times. The key to their success was to remove the super lens altogether. 

    The research is published today in Nature Communications.

    The work should allow scientists to further improve super-resolution microscopy, the researchers say. It could advance imaging in fields as varied as cancer diagnostics, medical imaging, or archaeology and forensics. 

    Lead author of the research, Dr Alessandro Tuniz from the School of Physics and University of Sydney Nano Institute, said: “We have now developed a practical way to implement superlensing, without a super lens. 

    “To do this, we placed our light probe far away from the object and collected both high- and low-resolution information. By measuring further away, the probe doesn’t interfere with the high-resolution data, a feature of previous methods.” 

    Previous attempts have tried to make super lenses using novel materials. However, most materials absorb too much light to make the super lens useful.

    Dr Tuniz said: “We overcome this by performing the superlens operation as a post-processing step on a computer, after the measurement itself. This produces a ‘truthful’ image of the object through the selective amplification of evanescent, or vanishing, light waves. 

    Co-author, Associate Professor Boris Kuhlmey, also from the School of Physics and Sydney Nano, said: “Our method could be applied to determine moisture content in leaves with greater resolution, or be useful in advanced microfabrication techniques, such as non-destructive assessment of microchip integrity.

    “And the method could even be used to reveal hidden layers in artwork, perhaps proving useful in uncovering art forgery or hidden works.”

    Typically, superlensing attempts have tried to home in closely on the high-resolution information. That is because this useful data decays exponentially with distance and is quickly overwhelmed by low-resolution data, which doesn’t decay so quickly. However, moving the probe so close to an object distorts the image.

    “By moving our probe further away we can maintain the integrity of the high-resolution information and use a post-observation technique to filter out the low-resolution data,” Associate Professor Kuhlmey said.

    The research was done using light at terahertz frequency at millimetre wavelength, in the region of the spectrum between visible and microwave.

    Associate Professor Kuhlmey said: “This is a very difficult frequency range to work with, but a very interesting one, because at this range we could obtain important information about biological samples, such as protein structure, hydration dynamics, or for use in cancer imaging.”

    Dr Tuniz said: “This technique is a first step in allowing high-resolution images while staying at a safe distance from the object without distorting what you see.

    “Our technique could be used at other frequency ranges. We expect anyone performing high-resolution optical microscopy will find this technique of interest.”

    DOWNLOAD images at this link.

     

     

     Research paper: A Tuniz & B Kuhlmey, ‘Subwavelength terahertz imaging via virtual superlensing in the radiating near field’, Nature Communications (2023)

    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41949-5

    (Available on request)

     

    DECLARATION

     

    The authors declare no competing financial interests. Research was in part funded by the Australian Research Council.

     

     

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    University of Sydney

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  • Brain activity organized by spiral signals found

    Brain activity organized by spiral signals found

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    Newswise — University of Sydney and Fudan University scientists have discovered human brain signals travelling across the outer layer of neural tissue that naturally arrange themselves to resemble swirling spirals.

    The research, published today in Nature Human Behaviour, indicates these ubiquitous spirals, which are brain signals observed on the cortex during both resting and cognitive states, help organise brain activity and cognitive processing.

    Senior author Associate Professor Pulin Gong, from the School of Physics in the Faculty of Science, said the discovery could have the potential to advance powerful computing machines inspired by the intricate workings of the human brain.

    The discovery opens up new avenues for understanding how the brain works and provides valuable insights into the fundamental functions of the human brain. It could help medical researchers understand the effects of brain diseases, such as dementia, by examining the role they play.

    “Our study suggests that gaining insights into how the spirals are related to cognitive processing could significantly enhance our understanding of the dynamics and functions of the brain,” said Associate Professor Gong, who is a member of the Complex Systems research group in Physics.

    “These spiral patterns exhibit intricate and complex dynamics, moving across the brain’s surface while rotating around central points known as phase singularities

    “Much like vortices act in turbulence, the spirals engage in intricate interactions, playing a crucial role in organising the brain’s complex activities.

    “The intricate interactions among multiple co-existing spirals could allow neural computations to be conducted in a distributed and parallel manner, leading to remarkable computational efficiency.”

    PhD student Yiben Xu, the lead author of the research from the School of Physics, said the location of the spirals on the cortex could allow them to connect activity in different sections, or networks, of the brain – acting as a bridge of communication. Many of the spirals are large enough to cover multiple networks.

    The cortex of the brain, also known as the cerebral cortex, is the outermost layer of the brain that is responsible for many complex cognitive functions, including perception, memory, attention, language and consciousness.

    “One key characteristic of these brain spirals is that they often emerge at the boundaries that separate different functional networks in the brain,” Mr Xu said.

    “Through their rotational motion, they effectively coordinate the flow of activity between these networks.

    “In our research we observed that these interacting brain spirals allow for flexible reconfiguration of brain activity during various tasks involving natural language processing and working memory, which they achieve by changing their rotational directions.”

    The scientists gathered their findings from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans of 100 young adults, which they analysed by adapting methods used to understand complex wave patterns in turbulence.

    Neuroscience has traditionally focused on interactions between neurons to understand brain function. There is a growing area of science looking at larger processes within the brain to help us understand its mysteries.

    “By unravelling the mysteries of brain activity and uncovering the mechanisms governing its coordination, we are moving closer to unlocking the full potential of understanding cognition and brain function,” Associate Professor Gong said.

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    University of Sydney

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  • In 2050, over 800 million people globally estimated to be living with back pain

    In 2050, over 800 million people globally estimated to be living with back pain

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    EMBARGOED: 08:30 hrs Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) Tuesday 23 May 2023 / 23:30 hrs UK (UK) Monday 22nd May

     

    Study estimates there will be over 800 million cases of low back pain in 2050, a 36 percent increase from 2020. With an ageing population, researchers say we must ‘put the brakes’ on low back pain cases before the burden becomes too great for our healthcare system.  

    Analysis of over 30 years of the GBD data has shown the number of cases of low back pain is growing, with modelling suggesting by 2050, 843 million people will be affected by the condition largely due to population increases and ageing of populations.

    The continued lack of a consistent approach on back pain treatment, and limited treatment options have researchers concerned that this will lead to a healthcare crisis, as low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world. 

    In Australia, there will be a nearly 50 percent increase in cases by 2050. The landscape of back pain cases is set to shift, with the biggest increases in back pain cases to be in Asia and Africa.  

    The findings are published in Lancet Rheumatology today. 

    “Our analysis paints a picture of growing low back pain cases globally, putting enormous pressure on our healthcare system. We need to establish a national, consistent approach to managing low back pain that is informed by research,” says lead author, Professor Manuela Ferreira from Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, an initiative of the University of Sydney, Sydney Local Health District and Northern Sydney Local Health District.

    “Currently, how we have been responding to back pain has been reactive. Australia is a global leader in back pain research; we can be proactive and lead by example on back pain prevention”, said Professor Ferreira who is based at Sydney’s Kolling Institute.

    The study reveals several milestones in back pain cases. Since 2017, the number of low back pain cases has ticked over to more than half a billion people. 

    In 2020, there were approximately 619 million cases of back pain.

    At least one third of the disability burden associated with backpain was attributable to occupational factors, smoking and being overweight.

    A widespread misconception is that low back pain mostly affects adults of working age. But researchers say this study has confirmed that low back pain is more common among older people. Low back pain cases were also higher among females compared to males.

    This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date available data that includes for the first time global projections and the contribution of GBD risk factors to low back pain. The work was made possible by the joint efforts of The University of Sydney, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine (healthdata.org), IHME’s international collaborators, and the Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health (gmusc.com).

    “We also know that most available data come from high-income countries, making it sometimes hard to interpret these results for low to mid-income countries. We urgently need more population-based back pain and musculoskeletal data from countries of low to mid-income,” said senior author Professor Lyn March from Sydney Musculoskeletal Health and the Kolling Institute.

    The study analysed GBD data from 1990 to 2020 from over 204 countries and territories to map the landscape of back pain cases over time. The GBD is the most comprehensive picture of mortality and disability across countries, time, age, and sex. 

    It is also the first study to be used for modelling the future prevalence of back pain cases. 

    “Health systems need to respond to this enormous and rising burden of low back pain that is affecting people globally.  Much more needs to be done to prevent low back pain and ensure timely access to care, as there are effective ways of helping people in pain” said Prof Anthony Woolf, co-chair of the Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health which is calling for priority to be given to addressing the growing burden of musculoskeletal conditions.

    “Ministries of health cannot continue ignoring the high prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions including low back pain. These conditions have important social and economic consequences, especially considering the cost of care. Now is the time to learn about effective strategies to address the high burden and to act” said Dr Alarcos Cieza, Unit Head, World Health Organization, Headquarters, Geneva

     

    National guidelines will form basis of back pain prevention

    In 2018, experts (independent to this study) voiced their concerns in The Lancet and gave recommendations, especially regarding exercise and education, about the need for a change in global policy on the best way to prevent and manage low back pain to stop the rise of inappropriate treatments.

    However, since then, there has been little change. Common treatments recommended for low back pain have been found to have unknown effectiveness or to be ineffective – this includes some surgeries and opioids. 

    Professor Ferreira says there is a lack of consistency in how health professionals manage back pain cases and how the healthcare system needs to adapt. 

    “It may come as a surprise to some that current clinical guidelines for back pain treatment and management do not provide specific recommendations for older people.” 

    “Older people have more complex medical histories and are more likely to be prescribed strong medication, including opioids for back pain management, compared to younger adults. But this is not ideal and can have a negative impact on their function and quality of life, especially as these analgesics may interfere with their other existing medications. This is just one example of why we need to update clinical guidelines to support our health professionals.”

    Co-author Dr Katie de Luca, from CQUniversity, said if the right action is not taken, low back pain can become a precursor to chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mental health conditions, invasive medical procedures, and significant disability.

    “Low back pain continues to be the greatest cause of disability burden worldwide. There are substantial socio-economic consequences of this condition, and the physical and personal impact directly threatens healthy ageing.”

    -ENDS-

    Declaration: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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    University of Sydney

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  • Study warns of underestimated uncertainty in published research

    Study warns of underestimated uncertainty in published research

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    Newswise — New research involving the University of Sydney Business School has found researchers underestimate the degree of uncertainty in their findings.

    In empirical science, researchers analyse samples to test hypotheses, and this creates a within-researcher variation due to sampling error. Re-sampling yields different values of the estimator, and the standard deviation of this distribution is referred to as standard error.

    Researchers are less aware, however, that there is an additional level of uncertainty due to there not being a standard analysis path.

    Researchers vary in what they deem to be the most reasonable path, and estimates may vary across researchers as they might pick different paths. This is referred to a non-standard error.

    The study, led by Professor Albert Menkveld at the Vrije University of Amsterdam and nine other academics, involved 164 teams testing the same hypotheses on the same data to measure the impact of non-standard errors.

    A separate team of highly experienced researchers was engaged to peer review the work of each of the 164 teams.

    The research, to be published in the Journal of Finance, found that such non-standard errors were substantial and similar in magnitude to standard errors.

    A relatively straightforward hypotheses about market share produced a non-standard error rate of 1.2 percent. For a more complex hypothesis about market efficiency, the non-standard error rate was up at 6.7 percent.

    Non-standard errors were smaller for better reproducible or higher-rated research, and slashed in half by adding peer-review stage.

    Study participant Professor Joakim Westerholm from the University of Sydney Business School said the research highlights the importance of researchers taking into account the potential dispersion in estimates when testing hypotheses due to the researchers’ choice of analysis path.

    “If researchers are not aligned on key decisions, such as selecting a statistical model or treating outliers, their estimates are likely to differ – adding uncertainty to the estimate reported by a single team,” Professor Westerholm said.

    “This type of uncertainty is often underestimated by researchers, which is why we need to be aware of our own bias and the steps we can take to minimise its impact.

    “While we cannot expect every question to be investigated by a team of 160 seasoned research teams, we can design approaches that take non-standard errors into account – for example, each member of a team could perform independent tests that are then compared and evaluated.”

    Professor Westerholm said the next stage in the research may be to replicate the study using artificial intelligence and machine learning to see whether this has any impact on the rate of non-standard errors.

     

    Declaration

    The coordinators are grateful for financial support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Marianne, Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, the Jan Wallander, Tom Hedelius Foundation, FWF grant P29362, FWF grant SFB F63, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond grant P21-0168, and NWO-Vici.

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    University of Sydney

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  • Blinded by the light: gamma ray burst brighter than any seen before

    Blinded by the light: gamma ray burst brighter than any seen before

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    Newswise — Australian astronomers have provided vital information in the global effort to understand the brightest-ever detected gamma ray burst, which swept through our Solar System on 9 October last year.

    Detailed findings of that explosion from another galaxy 1.9 billion light years away were published today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

    PhD student James Leung from the University of Sydney said: “The exceptional brightness of this gamma-ray burst meant astronomers were able to study it in unprecedented detail in real-time as the light arrived from that distant galaxy.

    “This gave us a golden opportunity to test intricate physical models that describe what happens before, during and after the death of a star.”

    Mr Leung is co-author of a complementary study published on the online arXiv and submitted for publication in Nature Astronomy.

    Scientists believe gamma ray bursts – the brightest known explosions in the Universe – are the death throes of enormous stars as they collapse into black holes, emitting enormous amounts of energy in opposite directions as gamma rays and X-rays.

    At the time of its detection last year, the gamma ray burst GRB 221009A was dubbed as BOAT – the brightest of all time.

    “While that’s a bit of an exaggeration, GRB 221009A was likely the brightest burst at X-ray and gamma-ray energies to occur since human civilisation began,” said Assistant Professor Eric Burns at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and co‑author of The Astrophysical Journal Letters study.

    The burst was so bright it blinded most gamma-ray instruments in space, which meant they could not measure the real intensity of the emission.

    Astronomers believe it to be a one in 10,000-year event. And while the energy from this gamma ray burst was not unusually large, the jets of energy were exceptionally narrow with one pointed directly at Earth, making it appear exceptionally bright.

    Working with scientists from the University of Oxford, the University of Sydney and the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, the astronomers provided vital and rapid follow-up observation of the cosmic event in the radio wave part of the electromagnetic (light) spectrum.

    This supported work by US astronomers piecing together missing data in shorter wavelengths (X-ray and gamma ray) using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and data collected from Russian and Chinese teams. Together they showed the burst was 70 times brighter than any seen before.

    University of Sydney scientists provided follow-up observation of the gamma ray burst using the CSIRO ASKAP telescope in Western Australia, detecting the effects of the dramatic emission of energy at longer radio wavelengths.

    Professor Tara Murphy, Head of the School of Physics at the University of Sydney and co-author on the Oxford University-led radio astronomy research, said: “One of the fascinating things about gamma ray bursts is, although they are over quite quickly – in just a matter of seconds – they leave afterglow emissions across the light spectrum in surrounding matter that echo for months and years afterwards.”

    Co-author and Sydney PhD student James Leung said: “This afterglow is produced by a forward shock from the material ejected by the gamma-ray burst and a reverse shock reflected backwards into the ejected material. This gives us further opportunities to observe these fascinating, powerful events.”

    Their observations showed a rapid, early brightening from the source of the event caused by the reverse shock of the gamma ray burst. This revealed evidence in radio waves that is difficult to explain within current theoretical explanations of gamma ray bursts.

    Mr Leung said: “Our observations provide unmatched insights into the reverse shock model for gamma-ray burst emission, showing it is very difficult for existing models to replicate the slow evolution of the energy peaks that we observed.

    “This means we have to refine and develop new theoretical models to understand these most extreme explosions in the Universe.”

    This detective work will help astronomers quickly pinpoint future gamma ray bursts, perhaps assisting in the discovery of predicted supernovae associated with the events.

    Co-author of the Oxford-led study, Dr Gemma Anderson (ICRAR-Curtin University), said: “The most interesting part of a cosmic explosion is the very beginning as the explosion expels material that is moving at nearly the speed of light. We therefore want the radio telescopes to be on target and observing GRBs as quickly as possible so that we can detect the very earliest radio light they emit.”

    With this type of GRB, astronomers expect to find a brightening supernova a few weeks later, but so far it has proven elusive.

    No gamma ray burst has so far been detected in our own galaxy, the Milky Way. It has been predicted that if such an enormous explosion were to happen relatively close to Earth – and pointed in our direction – the gamma ray burst could knock out electronics or, at worst, strip Earth of its atmosphere leading to mass extinctions.

     

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  • Scientists discover receptor that blocks COVID-19 infection

    Scientists discover receptor that blocks COVID-19 infection

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    Newswise — University of Sydney scientists have discovered a protein in the lung that blocks SARS-CoV-2 infection and forms a natural protective barrier in the human body.

    This protein, the leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 15 (LRRC15), is an inbuilt receptor that binds the SARS-CoV-2 virus without passing on the infection.

    The research opens up an entirely new area of immunology research around LRRC15 and offers a promising pathway to develop new drugs to prevent viral infection from coronaviruses like COVID-19 or deal with fibrosis in the lungs.

    The study has been published in the journal PLOS Biology. It was led by Professor Greg Neely with his team members Dr Lipin Loo, a postdoctoral researcher, and PhD student Matthew Waller at the Charles Perkins Centre and the School of Life and Environmental Sciences.

    The University study is one of three independent papers that reveal this specific protein’s interaction with COVID-19.

    “Alongside two other groups, one at Oxford, the other at Brown and Yale in the USA, we found a new receptor in the LRRC15 protein that can stop SARS-CoV-2. We found that this new receptor acts by binding to the virus and sequestering it which reduces infection,” Professor Neely said. 

    “For me, as an immunologist, the fact that there’s this natural immune receptor that we didn’t know about, that’s lining our lungs and blocks and controls virus, that’s crazy interesting.

    “We can now use this new receptor to design broad acting drugs that can block viral infection or even suppress lung fibrosis.”

    What is LRRC15?

    The COVID-19 virus infects humans by using a spike protein to attach to a specific receptor in our cells. It primarily uses a protein called the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to enter human cells. Lung cells have high levels of ACE2 receptors, which is why the COVID-19 virus often causes severe problems in this organ of infected people.

    Like ACE2, LRRC15 is a receptor for coronavirus, meaning the virus can bind to it. But unlike ACE2, LRRC15 does not support infection. It can, however, stick to the virus and immobilise it. In the process, it prevents other vulnerable cells from becoming infected.

    “We think it acts a bit like Velcro, molecular Velcro, in that it sticks to the spike of the virus and then pulls it away from the target cell types,” Dr Loo said.

    “Basically, the virus is coated in the other part of the Velcro, and while it’s trying to get to the main receptor, it can get caught up in this mesh of LRRC15,” Mr Waller said. 

    LRRC15 is present in many locations such as lungs, skin, tongue, fibroblasts, placenta and lymph nodes. But the researchers found human lungs light up with LRRC15 after infection.   

    “When we stain the lungs of healthy tissue, we don’t see much of LRRC15, but then in COVID-19 lungs, we see much more of the protein,” Dr Loo said.

    “We think this newly identified protein could be part of our body’s natural response to combating the infection creating a barrier that physically separates the virus from our lung cells most sensitive to COVID-19.”

    Implications of the research

    “When we studied how this new receptor works, we found that this receptor also controls antiviral responses, as well as fibrosis, and could link COVID-19 infection with lung fibrosis that occurs during long COVID,” Mr Waller said.

    “Since this receptor can block COVID-19 infection, and at the same time activate our body’s anti-virus response, and suppress our body’s fibrosis response, this is a really important new gene,” Professor Neely said.

    “This finding can help us develop new antiviral and antifibrotic medicines to help treat pathogenic coronaviruses, and possibly other viruses or other situations where lung fibrosis occurs.

    “For fibrosis, there are no good drugs: for example, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is currently untreatable.”

    Fibrosis is a condition in which lung tissue becomes scarred and thickened, causing breathing difficulties. COVID-19 can cause inflammation and damage to the lungs, leading to fibrosis.

    The authors said they are developing two strategies against COVID-19 using LRRC15 that could work across multiple variants – one which targets the nose as a preventative treatment, and another aimed at the lungs for serious cases.

    The researchers also said that the presence or lack of LRRC15, which is involved in lung repair, is an important indication of how severe a COVID-19 infection might become.

    “A group at Imperial College London independently found that absence of LRRC15 in the blood is associated with more severe COVID, which supports what we think is happening.” Dr Loo said. “If you have less of this protein, you likely have serious COVID. If you have more of it, your COVID is less severe.

    “We are now trying to understand exactly why this is the case.”

    The research involved screening human cell cultures for genes and investigating the lungs of human COVID-19 patients.

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