Scientists report autoimmunity from molecular mimicry between SARS-CoV-2 spike and human proteins FIU SARSCoV2 COVID19 Coronavirus Spike SpikeProtein HumanProteins
By Dr. Priyom Bose, Ph.D.Jun 29 2022Reviewed by Aimee Molineux The emergence and rapid outbreak of a novel coronavirus, namely, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 in China in 2019, caused a global pandemic, which is popularly known as the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic .
Background Previous studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 induces a range of antibody responses and also increases levels of autoantibodies that interact with human proteins in severely infected patients. Although the differential levels of disease severity associated with COVID-19 are not well understood, researchers believe it might be related to molecular mimicry.
The key function of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is penetrating host cells, thereby, causing infection. This protein protrudes from the virus and is a key antigenic protein for the virus. This is the reason why all COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics have been designed based on the S protein of SARS-CoV-2.
A new study Related StoriesA new study published in Viruses has focused on studying molecular mimicry between the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 and known epitopes, using a computational method. In this study, researchers combined two previously studied methods, i.e., the establishment of molecular mimicry between S and human proteins via sequence similarity based on known epitopes using the Immune Epitope Database and using sequence and structural similarity in general.
Researchers reported that a TQLPP motif in the Spike and thrombopoietin protein shares similar antibody binding properties. The finding of the study related to the TQLPP motif indicated significant potential for cross-reactivity between Spike and hTPO due to molecular mimicry, and this may affect platelet production and cause thrombocytopenia. In silico studies also predicted cross-reactivity with other TQLPP-containing proteins , which requires in vivo validation.
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