Journal
CELL STRESS & CHAPERONES
Volume 26, Issue 4, Pages 611-616Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s12192-021-01211-7
Keywords
COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Cancer; Molecular mimicry; Shared epitopes; Immunological cross-reaction
Categories
Funding
- Universita degli Studi di Palermo within the CRUI-CARE Agreement
- IMET
- IEMEST
- UNIPA
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This paper discusses the phenomenon of molecular mimicry between the virus and tumor cells, pointing out that this mimicry may lead to an immune reaction that impacts the prognosis of cancer patients. The authors call for clinical studies to evaluate the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on cancer patients.
A few reports suggest that molecular mimicry can have a role in determining the more severe and deadly forms of COVID-19, inducing endothelial damage, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and multiorgan failure. Heat shock proteins/molecular chaperones can be involved in these molecular mimicry phenomena. However, tumor cells can display on their surface heat shock proteins/molecular chaperones that are mimicked by SARS-CoV-2 molecules (including the Spike protein), similarly to what happens in other bacterial or viral infections. Since molecular mimicry between SARS-CoV-2 and tumoral proteins can elicit an immune reaction in which antibodies or cytotoxic cells produced against the virus cross-react with the tumor cells, we want to prompt clinical studies to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on prognosis and follow up of various forms of tumors. These topics, including a brief historical overview, are discussed in this paper.
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