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Why are Indians in US immune to viral infection?

M. Somasekhar

HYDERABAD, Feb. 21

AT least 30 per cent of the Americans suffer from Mononucleosis -- a viral infection that forces them to bed rest for a couple of months or else it can damage the liver. But Indians living in the US are said to be totally unaffected.

Scientists have also found that even in cases of cross-cultural marriages between Indians and the American populations, the children born to the couples were free from the disease caused by the virus.

The immunity contained in the genes of the Indian populations, whether in the US or India, could well be an excellent opportunity for joint collaboration between Indian and American researchers taking advantage of the recent breakthroughs in genomics, s aid Dr E. Premkumar Reddy, a leading non-resident Indian (NRI) scientist.

By a close analysis of the susceptibility of the Caucasian population in the US and the immunity factor among Indians, it would be possible to identify the specific gene that is responsible for providing the protective cover.

Once this was known, it would be just a matter of time before therapies suited to overcome the Mononucleosis problem were developed, Dr. PremKumar Reddy, Director, FELS Institute at the Temple University, Philadelphia, said.

In a reverse situation of sorts, it is now also clear that Indians and Italians are genetically far more susceptible to heart disease than say the Americans or the Europeans. Hence, there is a need to look at the genetic structure of the Indian populatio n to locate the genes which are the cause for this higher risk, Dr Reddy said.

``We have initiated discussions with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), a premier biotechnology research institute, for possible collaboration on the Mononucleosis disease. A breakthrough could well mean a contribution to solving a maj or health problem in the US as well as a very lucrative market opportunity'', he told Business Line in an interview.

Dr Reddy, who is the first Indian biologist to become Director of any American Institute since 1992, said that in biotechnology and especially genomics, a great economic opportunity awaits India. ``If you thought IT has brought big economic rewards, you have not seen anything; biotechnology is set to create 10 times bigger markets'', he said.

Describing genomics as the third revolution in modern biology since the 1960's, following the cracking of the `double helix' structure of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and the development of the recombinant DNA technology of the 1970's,

Dr Reddy said, ``It would be foolish for India to miss out on the present revolutions, especially since it has the capability and there are high economic gains''.

At the same time, he felt that ``India is very poorly prepared to derive advantage. Politicians don't seem to be understanding the economic importance of the genomic revolution''.

In IT sector, India could do well because all that was needed was a set of computers, Internet connectivity and enterprise for creating wealth as well as manpower.

Genomics, however, would be a totally different ball game. It needs huge investments to create infrastructure and train manpower. Unless pharma companies came forward to take up this challenge and Indian research institutes collaborated with internationa l partners, the task was going to be a daunting one for the country, he said.

The FELS Institute, with a $12-15 million annual grants, was a premier research centre in modern biology and had forged several collaborations with corporates and other research institutes in its projects, Dr Reddy said.

He advocated a close synergy between research organisations and corporates in India to derive some benefits in biotechnology.

A research institute can identify the gene, but for the development of a drug or diagnostic, only a pharma company could raise the resources, Dr Reddy, who himself holds equity in a pharma company called Onconova Therapeutics, based in Princeton, New Jer sey, said.

Pic.: Dr E. Premkumar Reddy

Picture by Roy Chowdhury