Covid-19 virus protein triggers immune attack on healthy cells — Study
Amid a fresh wave of Covid-19, Israeli researchers have discovered that a protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause the immune system to attack healthy cells
Published on Jun 11, 2025
By IANS
- NEW DELHI — Amid a fresh wave of Covid-19, Israeli researchers have discovered
that a protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause the immune system to attack
healthy cells mistakenly.
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- The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, sheds
light on how severe Covid complications may occur and suggests new ways to
prevent immune-driven damage from the virus, Xinhua news agency reported.
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- Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found
that the virus's nucleocapsid protein (NP), which normally helps package the
virus's genetic material inside infected cells, can spread to nearby uninfected
epithelial cells.
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- Once on the surface of these healthy cells, NP would be
mistakenly identified by the immune system as a threat. The immune system then
deploys anti-NP antibodies, which mark these uninfected cells for destruction.
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- The process triggers the classical complement pathway, a
part of the immune response that leads to inflammation and tissue damage,
contributing to severe Covid symptoms and possibly long Covid.
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- Using lab-grown cells, advanced imaging, and samples from
Covid-19 patients, the researchers found that NP binds to a type of molecule on
cell surfaces. The binding causes the protein to cluster on healthy cells,
further confusing the immune system.
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- The study also found that the drug enoxaparin -- a common
blood thinner and heparin analog -- blocks NP from sticking to healthy cells.
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- In both lab tests and patient samples, enoxaparin helped
prevent immune attacks by occupying the binding sites that NP uses.
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- According to the researchers, the discovery may offer new
hope for reducing immune-related complications in Covid and potentially other
viral infections.
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- Meanwhile, a newly identified Covid variant known as
NB.1.8.1 has been recently spreading rapidly across multiple parts of the
world, raising fresh concerns.
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- The variant, which belongs to the Omicron family, was
first detected in January 2025 and has since reached countries including India,
the US, the UK, Australia, China, Maldives, and Egypt.
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- The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially
labelled it a “Variant Under Monitoring,” meaning it is spreading fast enough to
warrant attention, but not enough to be classified as a major threat.
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