Journal
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
Volume 9, Issue 7, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/jcm9072038
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; cell stress; antistress proteins; molecular chaperones; molecular mimicry; crossreactive antibodies
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Funding
- University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
- Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology (IEMEST), Palermo, Italy
- University of Maryland at Baltimore, MD, USA
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Viruses can generate molecular mimicry phenomena within their hosts. Why should severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) not be considered one of these? Information in this short review suggests that it might be so and, thus, encourages research aiming at testing this possibility. We propose, as a working hypothesis, that the virus induces antibodies and that some of them crossreact with host's antigens, thus eliciting autoimmune phenomena with devasting consequences in various tissues and organs. If confirmed, by in vitro and in vivo tests, this could drive researchers to find effective treatments against the virus.
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