Is COVID-19 receiving ADE from other coronaviruses?

Abstract

a b s t r a c tOne of the most perplexing questions regarding the current COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic is the discrepancy between the severity of cases observed in the Hubei province of China and those occurring elsewhere in the world. One possible answer is antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) of SARS-CoV-2 due to prior exposure to other coronaviruses. ADE modulates the immune response and can elicit sustained inflammation, lymphopenia, and/or cytokine storm, one or all of which have been documented in severe cases and deaths. ADE also requires prior exposure to similar antigenic epitopes, presumably circulating in local viruses, making it a possible explanation for the observed geographic limitation of severe cases and deaths.

Why are pregnant women susceptible to COVID-19? An immunological viewpoint

“…Although current evidence is limited, we can not ignore the potential risk of infected women and the fetus. Recent literature indicates that in severe cases, COVID-19 infection is associated with a cytokine-storm, which is characterized by increased plasma concentrations of interleukins 2 (IL-2), IL-7, IL-10, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, interferon-γ-inducible protein 10, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) (Huang et al, 2020)， which may be caused by ADE (Tetro JA, 2020). Based on the knowledge that pregnant women in their first and third trimester are at the pro-inflammatory state, the cytokinestorm induced by SARS-CoV-2 may induce more severe inflammatory state in these women.…”

“…Moreover, there was significant discrepancy of serious cases and deaths happened between the areas within Hubei Province and the rest of the world, which may be possibly explained by antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) of SARS-CoV-2 due to prior exposure to similar antigenic epitopes with other coronaviruses. ADE can cause sustained inflammation, lymphopenia, and/or cytokine storm, one or all of which happened in the reported severe cases and deaths (Tetro JA, 2020). Although SARS-CoV-2 has some similarities with other coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious than other viruses among populations, which has caused more than 60,000 people infected worldwide within 2 months (Lu et al, 2020).…”

Molecular basis of COVID-19 relationships in different species: a one health perspective

“…They have been commonly found in a wide array of host spectrum including avian, camels, bats, masked palm civets, mice, dogs, and cats [2]. Since its early identification, in the very begin of 2020, several nucleotidesbased surveys and sequence homology-based alignments have been carried out with the focus to elucidate the viral origin and delineate cell-and host-tropism of the viral agent on the attempt to guide better management and control of the virus diffusion [4]. Sequence similarity alignments have reported SARS-CoV-2 being highly similar to several wildlife animals such as bats, pangolins and masked palm civets [3].…”

“…Controversial results have been reported concerning the snake coronavirus [2,5]. Nevertheless, the sole investigation of the genetic sequences might result in a biased and/or incomplete depiction of the virus source, biology and its pathogenetic mechanism [4]. In the Hubei province, where the outbreak originated, severe cases or deaths attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infections are predominantly arising from patients suffering from one or more previous pathological conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease leading to sequelae, sometimes fatal, such as cellular immune deficiency, coagulation activation, myocardia injury, hepatic and kidney injury, and secondary bacterial infection [4,6].…”

“…Although featured by a higher fatality rate when compared with the virus of the seasonal influenza (3.4%, WHO Situation Report-37, 25/02/2020), outside the primordial outbreak site, much less warning clinical signs have been registered in the SARS CoV-2 infected patients manifesting a mild form of the disease that is not evolving into severe stages and can, in some cases, recover without medical intervention [4]. Altogether this suggests the important contribution of the biological mechanisms that cannot be explained by the sole investigation of the genetic sequences.…”