A Discussion of a Reason Why Kids are Less Affected by the Coof

Innate anti-viral immune systems especially of the lungs, decay with age and by 60 it is a fraction of what it was in childhood

Nature article discussing viral RNA sensing capacity difference between kids and adults

Retinol is a factor.

As much as studies have revealed that Vitamin D is critical in managing the numerous relationships and complex interplays between immune system elements (perhaps because, for obscure evolutionary reasons, the Lords of Mammalian Immunity saw fit to tie a giant bundle of immune cues to the function of bound Vitamin D receptor within the nuclei of many effector cells), the main upshot is that human olds seem to be basically deficient in D3. Adding D, by whatever means, sunshine, supplements, seems to grant an uptick in survivability, theoretically by enhancing immune cell vigor at some level. But is D really the best key to prevention of viral infection and/or reduction of symptoms? Seems like the thing that olds are lacking is the ability to even sense when a virus is inside the lung cells, and getting ready to virally muck about with the machinery. If it wasn’t Rona that was being tolerated, it would be another lung virus like a common cold or RSV (which is surging back).

All a cell has to do to not notice a virus in the living room is to be missing a “pattern recognition” protein floating about in the cytosol. The pattern that this type of protein is intended to recognize are “viral nucleotides,” and when they recognize one by sticking to it, they throw up a signal flare that encourages immune cells to come to the rescue and pour all sorts of antiviral goods on the problem, such as the often-discussed Interferon (IFN-γ ). This in turn kicks off critical events that, when properly executed, leads to viral clearance in a few days, and long-term immune memory of the encounter.

Retinoic acid-inducible gene is abbreviated as (RIG-1) and the product of that gene is conveniently and memorably called “DDX58.” The gene is routinely (constitutively) making the protein product, but it is inducible to do more than the baseline in the presence of Vitamin A (retinol —> retinoic acid). Turns out that kids make a giant amount of this and other viral surveillance proteins, and their expression levels go down over the years. By the time you are old, it is almost absent. Thus, the viruses have an easier time establishing a foothold in lung tissues of olds. Once that happens, everything the immune system must do is mitigation instead of prevention. Not good.