Viral protein fragments may unlock mystery behind serious COVID-19 outcomes

Key takeawaysThere remains no clear explanation for why COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, can result in severe outcomes or death while other coronaviruses just cause common colds, or why COVID-19 symptoms persist after the coronavirus that causes it has been eliminated.A UCLA-led research team has shown that fragments of the coronavirus may drive inflammation by mimicking the action of specific immune molecules in the body.The findings could contribute to not only the understanding and treatment of COVID-19 but also efforts to detect coronaviruses with the potential to cause pandemics before they become widespread.There are many lingering mysteries from the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, why does SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the disease, cause severe symptoms in some patients, while many other coronaviruses don ’t? And what causes strange symptoms to persist even after the infection has been cleared from a person’s system?  The world may now have the beginning of answers. In a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a UCLA-led multidisciplinary research team explores one way that COVID-19 turns the immune system — which is crucial for keeping people alive — against the body itself, with potentially deadly results.  Using an artificial intelligence system they developed, the study authors scanned the entire collection of proteins produced by SARS-CoV-2 and then performed an exhaustive  series of validation experiments. T...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news