Macela A, Kubelkova K. Why Does SARS-CoV-2 Infection Induce Autoantibody Production?
Pathogens 2021;
10:380. [PMID:
33809954 PMCID:
PMC8004127 DOI:
10.3390/pathogens10030380]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces the production of autoantibodies, which is significantly associated with complications during hospitalization and a more severe prognosis in COVID-19 patients. Such a response of the patient's immune system may reflect (1) the dysregulation of the immune response or (2) it may be an attempt to regulate itself in situations where the non-infectious self poses a greater threat than the infectious non-self. Of significance may be the primary virus-host cell interaction where the surface-bound ACE2 ectoenzyme plays a critical role. Here, we present a brief analysis of recent findings concerning the immune recognition of SARS-CoV-2, which, we believe, favors the second possibility as the underlying reason for the production of autoantibodies during COVID-19.
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