Molecular Mimicry between SARS-CoV-2 Proteins and Human Self-Antigens Related with Autoimmune CNS Disorders, 2023, Gutman et al

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

URL: https://publons.com/wos-op/publon/63521218/

Contributors
Elisa Gouvea Gutman, Renan Amphilophio Fernandes, Jéssica Vasques Raposo-Vedovi, Andreza Lemos Salvio, Larissa Araujo Duarte, Caio Faria Tardim, Vinicius Gabriel Coutinho Costa, Valéria Coelho Santa Rita Pereira, Paulo Roberto Valle Bahia, Marcos Martins da Silva, Fabrícia Lima Fontes-Dantas, and Soniza Vieira Alves-Leon.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 can trigger autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) diseases in genetically susceptible individuals, a mechanism poorly understood. Molecular mimicry (MM) has been identified in other viral diseases as potential triggers of autoimmune CNS events. This study investigated if MM is the process through which SARS-CoV-2 induces the breakdown of immune tolerance.

The frequency of autoimmune CNS disorders was evaluated in a prospective cohort with patients admitted to the COVID-19 Intense Care Unity (ICU) in Rio de Janeiro. Then, an in silico analysis was performed to identify the conserved regions that share a high identity between SARS-CoV-2 antigens and human proteins. The sequences with significant identity and antigenic properties were then assessed for their binding capacity to HLA subtypes.

Of the 112 patients included, 3 were classified as having an autoimmune disorder. A total of eleven combinations had significant linear and three-dimensional overlap. NMDAR1, MOG, and MPO were the self-antigens with more significant combinations, followed by GAD65. All sequences presented at least one epitope with strong or intermediate binding capacity to the HLA subtypes selected.

This study underscores the possibility that CNS autoimmune attacks observed in COVID-19 patients, including those in our population, could be driven by MM in genetically predisposed individuals.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; molecular mimicry; immune tolerance; autoimmune disorders; central nervous system

 

Fontes-Dantas has a number of papers on post-viral conditions here.