Mini-Gut Research Shows Sustained Virus Propagation with Delta Variant

Tokyo, April 5 (Jiji Press)--Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mini-guts showed sustained virus propagation when infected with the delta variant and the BA.2.75 omicron subvariant of the COVID-19 virus, a research team in Japan has said.

This can be considered as one factor behind lasting effects of COVID-19, according to the team, which included researchers from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the National Center for Child Health and Development.

The results of the research were published in the online edition of a journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

Past findings have shown that sustained infection with the novel coronavirus in the intestinal tract is linked to lasting effects of COVID-19.

The team also found a protein that curbs the propagation of the delta variant and the BA.2.75 omicron subvariant.

Virus propagation was subdued when mini-guts were infected with omicron subvariants BA.2, BA.5 and XBB.1. This was because plenty of a protein possessing antiviral activity called interferon lambda 2 was produced by mini-guts, the researchers said.

Only a small amount of the protein was produced when mini-guts were infected with the delta variant and the BA.2.75 omicron subvariant. Artificially increasing the amount of the protein was effective in curbing virus propagation.

Techniques to produce mini-guts were developed in 2017 by people including Hidenori Akutsu from the National Center for Child Health and Development.

END