Nat Microbiol: A special immunoprotein, LY6E, or infection that can damage SARS-Cov-2.

August 9, 2020 // -- A protein produced by the human immune system that may be effective in suppressing coronavirus infections, including SARS-Cov-2, may help develop new treatments for coronavirus infections in a study published in the international journal Nature Microbiology.
Image source: RUB, Marquard researchers say LY6E plays a key role in the development of a variety of diseases, enhancing the infectious nature of influenza viruses, however, the activity of coronaviruses may be inhibited by the LY6E protein; The effects of LY6E on coronaviruses may be completely different from those of influenza viruses, and after further study, the researchers point out that the LY6E protein may have an inhibitory effect on the coronaviruses analyzed, including SARS, MERS, and SARS-Cov-2, which induces COVID-19.
After studying different cell cultures, the researchers found that LY6E affected the fusion between the virus and the host, and that if the virus could not fuse with these cells, it did not induce infection, which was successfully confirmed in animal models, and they found that LY6E protein mutants in mice It is very important to protect immune cells against infection, when there is no LY6E protein, immune cells such as throbbing cells and B cells are very susceptible to infection, and their number will decline significantly, the lack of LY6E in immune cells of mice will be very sensitive to normal non-lethal mouse coronavirus, and will also die from infection.
Researchers point out that the coronavirus in mice used in the experiment is significantly different from the pathogen that induces the current COIVID-19 epidemic, which induces hepatitis rather than respiratory disease, although the coronavirus is now widely considered to be an ideal model for understanding coronavirus replication and body immune response in living animals; Because LY6E is a naturally occurring human protein, the researchers hope that the results of this paper may help develop new treatments for coronavirus infection, and that a therapeutic approach that simulates the mechanism of LY6E's action may provide a first-line defense against new coronavirus infection.
() Original sources: Pfaender, S., Mar, K.B., Michailidis, E. et al. LY6E impairs coronavirus fusion and confers immune control of viral disease. Nat Microbiol (2020). doi:10.1038/s41564-020-0769-y.