Human Molecular Chaperones Share with SARS-CoV-2 Antigenic Epitopes Potentially Capable of Eliciting Autoimmunity Against Endothelial Cells: Possible Role of Molecular Mimicry in COVID-19

Overview

Journal Cell Stress Chaperones

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Cell Biology

Date 2020 Aug 6

PMID 32754823

Citations 58

Authors

Antonella Marino Gammazza

Sebastien Legare

Giosue Lo Bosco

Alberto Fucarino

Francesca Angileri

Everly Conway de Macario

Alberto Jl Macario

Francesco Cappello

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of COVID-19 disease, has the potential to elicit autoimmunity because mimicry of human molecular chaperones by viral proteins. We compared viral proteins with human molecular chaperones, many of which are heat shock proteins, to determine if they share amino acid-sequence segments with immunogenic-antigenic potential, which can elicit cross-reactive antibodies and effector immune cells with the capacity to damage-destroy human cells by a mechanism of autoimmunity. We identified the chaperones that can putatively participate in molecular mimicry phenomena after SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on those for which endothelial cell plasma-cell membrane localization has already been demonstrated. We also postulate that post-translational modifications, induced by physical (shear) and chemical (metabolic) stress caused respectively by the risk factors hypertension and diabetes, might have a role in determining plasma-cell membrane localization and, in turn, autoimmune-induced endothelial damage.

Citing Articles

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Putative Roles and Therapeutic Potential of the Chaperone System in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Multiple Sclerosis.

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Molecular Mimicry between SARS-CoV-2 Proteins and Human Self-Antigens Related with Autoimmune Central Nervous System (CNS) Disorders.

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