Department of Health Science, University "Magna Græcia" of Catanzaro, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Milano, Via Celoria n10, 20133 Milano, Italy.
Microbes Infect. 2020 May-Jun;22(4-5):218-220. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2020.03.002. Epub 2020 Mar 17.
Outside the Hubei province, China, the mild form of infection and the progressive recover of the COVID-19 patients suggest the intervention of "unconventional" biological mechanisms worthy of attention. Based on the high-homology between the Spike protein epitopes of taxonomically-related coronaviruses, we hypothesized that past contact with infected dogs shield humans against the circulating SARS-CoV-2. Elseways, the recurrent virus exposure over a short time-lapse might result in the Antibody Dependent Enhancement, triggering the violent immune reaction responsible for the severe clinical outcomes observed in the Hubei province. Nevertheless, further experimental studies are desired for a confidential evaluation of the postulated hypotheses.
在中国湖北省外，COVID-19 轻症患者的逐渐康复表明存在值得关注的“非常规”生物学机制。基于分类相关冠状病毒刺突蛋白表位的高度同源性，我们假设过去与感染的犬类接触可使人类免受循环 SARS-CoV-2 的侵害。否则，短时间内反复的病毒暴露可能导致抗体依赖性增强，引发剧烈的免疫反应，这可能是导致湖北省严重临床结果的原因。然而，还需要进一步的实验研究来对假设进行保密评估。
