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. 2020 Sep;25(5):731-735.
doi: 10.1007/s12192-020-01145-6. Epub 2020 Jul 29.

SARS-CoV-2 and Guillain-Barré syndrome: molecular mimicry with human heat shock proteins as potential pathogenic mechanism

Guglielmo Lucchese  1 , Agnes Flöel  2   3
Affiliations

SARS-CoV-2 and Guillain-Barré syndrome: molecular mimicry with human heat shock proteins as potential pathogenic mechanism

Guglielmo Lucchese et al. Cell Stress Chaperones. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 infection has been associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome. We investigated here the potential mechanism underlying the virus-induced damage of the peripheral nervous systems by searching the viral amino acid sequence for peptides common to human autoantigens associated with immune-mediated polyneuropathies. Our results show molecular mimicry between the virus and human heat shock proteins 90 and 60, which are associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome and other autoimmune diseases. Crucially, the shared peptides are embedded in immunoreactive epitopes that have been experimentally validated in the human host.

Keywords: COVID-19; Demyelination; Neuropathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

GL reports grant support from the University of Greifswald. AF reports grant support from the German Research Foundation, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, European Union, Else Kröner Fresenius Stiftung, and Hannelore Kohl Stiftung; consultant fees from Novartis and Bayer; and honorariums for presentations in scientific symposia by Novartis and Bayer, all outside the submitted work. GL and AF are listed as inventors on a patent application for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Comment in

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