We have known for about 20 years that the first line of defence against respiratory viruses is interferon lambda, a natural protein produced in the throat, nose and upper respiratory tract (trachea and bronchi).
CALIFORNIA: Is Covid-19 making a comeback in 2025 as a variant of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus? Are we seeing the beginning of another pandemic? We may have a narrow window of opportunity to deploy the information gained during the recent 2020-2024 pandemic to contain and abort the 2025 outbreak before it balloons into another pandemic.
We have known for about 20 years that the first line of defence against respiratory viruses is interferon lambda—a natural protein produced in the throat, nose and upper respiratory tract (trachea and bronchi). Interferon lambda (Interferon-λ) alerts the patient’s body defences and stimulates many genes that help fight off the virus by slowing its multiplication and its spread down into the lungs. Interferon lambda, the first defender, helps contain the virus in the nose and throat and protects the lungs. This is how the body’s own defences contain most respiratory viruses including the common cold virus so that the result is a throat and nose infection and not a pneumonia.
Scientists had already reported early in the pandemic that unlike SARS-CoV-1 virus that caused the SARS outbreak in Asia in 2003, the SARS-CoV-2 virus had a somewhat unusual and unique ability to suppress interferon lambda response by the body. Therefore, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was able to multiply faster; cause more severe disease; and spread faster amongst contacts. Furthermore, studies amongst Covid patients of various age groups revealed that the production of interferon lambda was robust in the young but not in the elderly. The blunted interferon lambda response puts the elderly at greater risk of more severe disease and Covid-19 pneumonia.
Therefore, by inference, just as synthetic insulin is used to treat diabetes, synthetic interferon lambda should be able to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Indeed, scientists were able to confirm that interferon lambda administered by inhalation or by injection is able to inhibit and contain the virus. A landmark clinical trial published in the most reputable New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated that a single subcutaneous injection of Interferon lambda administered to outpatients with Covid-19 cuts the risk of hospitalization and death by nearly 50%.1 Interestingly, interferon lambda has anti-inflammatory properties and therefore reduces the symptoms of the disease as well. Most importantly, interferon lambda remained effective for all different strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and in both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. interferon lambda works both in the young and the old.2 Interferon lambda was found to be very safe and have little side-effects compared to the control group that received a placebo injection.
It is most unfortunate that the SARS-CoV-3 pandemic caused by the mutated Omicron variants of corona virus may be upon us, but interferon lambda is not available anywhere in the world. However, it may not be too late. It is time for the government, the health authorities and the pharmaceutical industry to come together and make this most effective therapy against coronaviruses available to the masses at the earliest. Clinical trials of interferon lambda both as an injection and as an inhaler are urgently needed against the strain causing the current outbreak. Interferon lambda may hold the key to not only reducing the suffering and deaths but also reducing the viral burden in the patients thereby reducing transmission to contacts and aborting the 2025 outbreak before it balloons into a new SARS-CoV-3 pandemic.3
REFERENCES
1. Reis G, et al. Early treatment with pegylated interferon lambda for Covid-19. N Engl J Med 2023;388:518-528.
2. Santer DM, et al. Interferon-λ treatment accelerates SARS-CoV-2 clearance despite age-related delays in the induction of T cell immunity. Nat Commun. 2022 Nov 16;13(1):6992.
3. Kelleni MT. SARS CoV-2 genetic jump to a new SARS CoV-3 pandemic: Let’s be prepared. J Infect. 2023 Aug;87(2):144.
* Dr Ajay Gupta, MBBS (AIIMS), MD-Medicine (AIIMS) is Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Orange, California, USA
Disclaimer: The author is developing a new drug to boost the production of interferon lambda by the body. For further information contact: ajayg1@hs.uci.edu or charaklabs@outlook.com