The molecular mimicry and COVID-19
- Authors: Zorina V.1
-
Affiliations:
- Golikov Research Clinical Center of Toxicology under the Federal Medical Biological Agency
- Issue: Vol 13, No 5 (2023)
- Pages: 841-852
- Section: REVIEWS
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/2220-7619/article/view/158887
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.15789/2220-7619-TMM-8878
- ID: 158887
Cite item
Full Text
Abstract
A significant part of the complications of COVID-19 and manifestations of post-COVID syndrome is associated with autoimmune reactions caused by SARS-CoV-2. The key mechanism for enabling autoimmunity in COVID-19 results from molecular mimicry, which is involved in developing cytokine storm, systemic multiorgan hyperinflammation, endothelial dysfunction, also being a trigger for arising post-COVID-19 autoimmune diseases (autoimmune thrombocytopenia, autoimmune vasculitis, Guillain–Barré syndrome, Miller–Fisher syndrome, autoimmune neuropathy, autoimmune thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.). Overall, there have been identified 59 common immune determinants in 80 epitopes of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and 53 anti-inflammatory proteins, receptors regulating cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis as well as immune response. It was found that among the 37 viral proteins, only 8 of them bear no immunogenic regions identical to human proteins. Cross-reactivity results in emergence of more than 15 distinct types of autoantibodies including antiphospholipid antibodies against cardiolipin and beta-2-glycoprotein I, antibodies specific to transmembrane adenosine receptor A2b, adiponectin, phosphatidylserine-prothrombin, antinuclear antigens, mitochondrial M2, type I interferons, and other cytokines, chemokines, complement components and cell membrane proteins. Autoantibodies formed during COVID-19 react to antigens of cells located in the thyroid gland, cardiac and skeletal muscles, lung, joints, liver, kidneys, brain and bone marrow, peripheral nervous system, skin and adipose tissue, gastrointestinal tract, testicles, eyes as well as mitochondrial antigens, mediating development of severe disease-related complications and post-COVID syndrome. The presence of 24 homologous pentapeptides with those found in B. pertussis, C. diphtheriae, C. tetani, H. influenzae and N. meningitidis poses a risk of developing ineffective vaccination immune response paralleled with higher risk of autoimmune complications. It is imperative to take into account the phenomenon of molecular mimicry while proposing new approaches for rehabilitation and treatment of COVID-19 as well as in development and testing of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.
Full Text
##article.viewOnOriginalSite##About the authors
Veronika Zorina
Golikov Research Clinical Center of Toxicology under the Federal Medical Biological Agency
Author for correspondence.
Email: nilimmun@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9183-7663
SPIN-code: 1630-1716
Scopus Author ID: 57075004700
ResearcherId: N-8811-2018
DSc (Biology), Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Applied Toxicology and Pharmacology, Toxicology Department
Russian Federation, St. PetersburgReferences
- Довгань А.А., Драпкина Ю.С., Долгушина Н.В., Менжинская И.В., Инвияева Е.В., Вторушина В.В., Кречетова Л.В., Сухих Г.Т. Влияние вакцинации от COVID-19 на иммунный статус и профиль аутоантител у женщин репродуктивного возраста // Медицинская иммунология. 2022. Т. 24, № 5. С. 979–992. [Dovgan A.A., Drapkina Yu.S., Dolgushina N.V., Menzhinskaya I.V., Inviyaeva E.V., Vtorushina V.V., Krechetova L.V., Sukhikh G.T. Effect of COVID-19 vaccination on the immune status and autoantibody profile in women of reproductive age. Meditsinskaya Immunologiya = Medical Immunology (Russia), 2022, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 979–992. (In Russ.)] doi: 10.15789/1563-0625-EOC-2515
- Кудрявцев И.В., Головкин А.С., Тотолян Арег А. Т-хелперы и их клетки-мишени при COVID-19 // Инфекция и иммунитет. 2022. Т. 12, № 3. С. 409–426. [Kudryavtsev I.V., Golovkin A.S., Totolian Areg A. T helper cell subsets and related target cells in acute COVID-19. Infektsiya i immunitet = Russian Journal of Infection and Immunity, 2022, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 409–442. (In Russ.)] doi: 10.15789/2220-7619-THC-1882
- Москалец О.В. Роль инфекции в развитии аутоиммунных заболеваний // Казанский медицинский журнал. 2017. Т. 98, № 4. С. 586–591. [Moskalets O.V. Role of infections in autoimmune disease development. Kazanskii meditsinskii zhurnal = Kazan Medical Journal, 2017, vol. 98, no. 4, pp. 586–591. (In Russ.)] doi: 10.17750/KMJ2017-586
- Петриков С.С., Боровкова Н.В., Попугаев К.А., Сторожева М.В., Квасников А.М., Годков М.А. Аутоантитела к интерферону альфа и их значение при COVID-19 // Инфекция и иммунитет. 2022. Т. 12, № 2. C. 279–287. [Petrikov S.S., Borovkova N.V., Popugaev K.A., Storozheva M.V., Kvasnikov A.M., Godkov M.A. Anti-interferon alpha autoantibodies and their significance in COVID-19. Infektsiya i immunitet = Russian Journal of Infection and Immunity, 2022, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 279–287. (In Russ.)] doi: 10.15789/2220-7619-AAA-1789
- Alam W. COVID-19 vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia: a review of the potential mechanisms and proposed management. Sci. Prog., 2021, vol. 104, no. 2, pp. 1–13. doi: 10.1177/00368504211025927
- Bozkurt B., Kamat I., Hotez P.J. Myocarditis with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Circulation, 2021, vol. 144, no. 6, pp. 471–484. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.056135
- Chen Y., Xu Z., Wang P., Li X.M., Shuai Z.W., Ye D.Q., Pan H.F. New-onset autoimmune phenomena post-COVID-19 vaccination. Immunology, 2022, vol. 165, no. 4, pp. 386–401. doi: 10.1111/imm.13443
- Dotan A., Muller S., Kanduc D., David P., Halpert G., Shoenfeld Y. The SARS-CoV-2 as an instrumental trigger of autoimmunity. Autoimmun. Rev., 2021, vol. 20, no. 4: 102792. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2021.102792
- Ehrenfeld M., Tincani A., Andreoli L., Cattalini M., Greenbaum A., Kanduc D., Alijotas-Reig J., Zinserling V., Semenova N., Amital H., Shoenfeld Y. Covid-19 and autoimmunity. Autoimmun. Rev., 2020, vol. 19, no. 8: 102597. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2020.102597
- Gat I., Kedem A., Dviri M., Umanski A., Levi M., Hourvitz A., Baum M. Covid-19 vaccination BNT162b2 temporarily impairs semen concentration and total motile count among semen donors. Andrology, 2022, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 1016–1022. doi: 10.1111/andr.13209
- Greinacher A., Thiele T., Warkentin T.E., Weisser K., Kyrle P.A., Eichinger S. Thrombotic thrombocytopenia after ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination. N. Engl. J. Med., 2021, vol. 384, no. 22, pp. 2092–2101. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2104840
- Kanduc D. From anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response to the cytokine storm via molecular mimicry. Antibodies, 2021, vol. 10, no. 36, pp. 1–13. doi: 10.3390/antib10040036
- Kanduc D. From anti-Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 immune response to cancer onset via molecular mimicry and cross-reactivity. Glob. Med. Genet., 2021, no. 8, pp. 176–182. [doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1735590
- Kreye J., Reincke S.M., Prüss H. Do cross-reactive antibodies cause neuropathology in COVID-19? Nat. Rev. Immunol., 2020, vol. 20, no. 11, pp. 645–646. doi: 10.1038/s41577-020-00458-y
- Lee E., Oh J.E. Humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and the impact on COVID-19 pathogenesis. Mol. Cells, 2021, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 392–400. doi: 10.14348/molcells.2021.0075
- Liu Y., Sawalha A.H., Lu Q. COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases. Curr. Opin. Rheumatol., 2021, no. 33, pp. 155–162. doi: 10.1097/BOR.0000000000000776
- Logunov D.Y., Dolzhikova I.V., Shcheblyakov D.V., Tukhvatulin A.I., Zubkova O.V., Dzharullaeva A.S., Kovyrshina A.V., Lubenets N.L., Grousova D.M., Erokhova A.S., Botikov A.G., Izhaeva F.M., Popova O., Ozharovskaya T.A., Esmagambetov I.B., Favorskaya I.A., Zrelkin D.I., Voronina D.V., Shcherbinin D.N., Semikhin A.S., Simakova Y.V., Tokarskaya E.A., Egorova D.A., Shmarov M.M., Nikitenko N.A., Gushchin V.A., Smolyarchuk E.A., Zyryanov S.K., Borisevich S.V., Naroditsky B.S., Gintsburg A.L., Gam-COVID-Vac Vaccine Trial Group. Safety and efficacy of an rAd26 and rAd5 vector-based heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine: an interim analysis of a randomised controlled phase 3 trial in Russia. Lancet, 2021, vol. 397, no. 10275, pp. 671–681. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00234-8
- McGonagle D., De Marco G., Bridgewood C. Mechanisms of immunothrombosis in vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) compared to natural SARS-CoV-2 infection. J. Autoimmun., 2021, vol. 121, no. 102662, pp. 1–7. doi: 10.1016/j.jaut.2021.102662
- Moody R., Wilson K., Flanagan K.L., Jaworowski A., Plebanski M. Adaptive immunity and the risk of autoreactivity in COVID-19. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 2021, vol. 22, no. 8965, pp. 1–13. doi: 10.3390/ijms22168965
- Pujol A., Gómez .LA., Gallegos C., Nicolau J., Sanchís P., González-Freire M., López-González Á.A., Dotres K., Masmiquel L. Thyroid as a target of adjuvant autoimmunity/inflammatory syndrome due to mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: from Graves’ disease to silent thyroiditis. J. Endocrinol. Invest., 2022, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 875–882. doi: 10.1007/s40618-021-01707-0
- Ramasamy R., Mohammed F., Meier U.C. HLA DR2b-binding peptides from human endogenous retrovirus envelope, Epstein-Barr virus and brain proteins in the context of molecular mimicry in multiple sclerosis. Immunol. Lett., 2020, no. 217, pp. 15–24. doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2019.10.017
- Rodda L.B., Morawski P.A., Fahning M.L., Howard C.A., Franko N., Logue J., Eggenberger J., Stokes C., Golez I., Hale M., Gale M., Chu H.Y., Campbell D.J., Pepper M. Imprinted SARS-CoV-2-specific memory lymphocytes define hybrid immunity. Cell, 2022, no. 185, pp. 1–14. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.03.018
- Roghani A. The influence of COVID-19 vaccination on daily cases, hospitalization, and death rate in Tennessee, United States: case study. JMIRx Med., 2021, vol. 2, no. 3: e29324. doi: 10.2196/29324
- Schultz N.H., Sørvoll I.H., Michelsen A.E., Munthe L.A., Lund-Johansen F., Ahlen M.T., Wiedmann M., Aamodt A.H., Skattør T.H., Tjønnfjord G.E., Holme P.A. Thrombosis and thrombocytopenia after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination. N. Engl. J. Med., 2021, vol. 384, no. 22, pp. 2124–2130. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2104882
- Scully M., Singh D., Lown R., Poles A., Solomon T., Levi M., Goldblatt D., Kotoucek P., Thomas W., Lester W. Pathologic antibodies to platelet factor 4 after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination. N. Engl. J. Med., 2021, vol. 384, no. 23, pp. 2202–2211. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2105385
- Shrock E., Fujimura E., Kula T., Timms R.T., Lee I.H., Leng Y., Robinson M.L., Sie B.M., Li M.Z., Chen Y., Logue J., Zuiani A., McCulloch D., Lelis F.JN., Henson S., Monaco D.R., Travers M., Habibi S., Clarke W.A., Caturegli P., Laeyendecker O., Piechocka-Trocha A., Li J.Z., Khatri A., Chu H.Y.; MGH COVID-19 Collection & Processing Team; Villani A.C., Kays K., Goldberg M.B., Hacohen N., Filbin M.R., Yu X.G., Walker B.D., Wesemann D.R., Larman H.B., Lederer J.A., Elledge S.J. Viral epitope profiling of COVID-19 patients reveals cross-reactivity and correlates of severity. Science, 2020, vol. 370, no. 6520: eabd4250. doi: 10.1126/science.abd4250
- Thant H.L., Morgan R., Paese M.M., Persaud T., Diaz J., Hurtado L. Guillain-Barré syndrome after Ad26.COV2.S vaccination. Am. J. Case. Rep., 2022, no. 23: e935275. doi: 10.12659/AJCR.935275
- Thiele T., Ulm L., Holtfreter S., Schönborn L., Kuhn S.O., Scheer C., Warkentin T.E., Bröker B.M., Becker K., Aurich K., Selleng K., Hübner N.O., Greinacher A. Frequency of positive anti-PF4/polyanion antibody tests after COVID-19 vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2. Blood, 2021, vol. 138, no. 4, pp. 299–303. doi: 10.1182/blood.2021012217
- Velikova T., Georgiev T. SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and autoimmune diseases amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Rheumatol. Int., 2021, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 509–518. doi: 10.1007/s00296-021-04792-9
- Vojdani A., Vojdani E., Kharrazian D. Reaction of human monoclonal antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 proteins with tissue antigens: implications for autoimmune diseases. Front. Immunol., 2021, vol. 11, no. 617089, pp. 1–16. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.617089
- Vojdani A., Kharrazian D. Potential antigenic cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and human tissue with a possible link to an increase in autoimmune diseases. Clin. Immunol., 2020, vol. 217, no. 108480, pp. 1–2. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2020.108480
- Yazdanpanah N., Rezaei N. Autoimmune complications of COVID-19. J. Med. Virol., 2022, vol. 94, no. 1, pp. 54–62. doi: 10.1002/jmv.27292
- Yong S.J. Long COVID or post-COVID-19 syndrome: putative pathophysiology, risk factors, and treatments. Infect. Dis. (Lond.), 2021, vol. 53, no. 10, pp. 737–754. doi: 10.1080/23744235.2021.1924397