New York, Oct 29 (TIWN) Researchers have revealed that coronaviruses are adept at imitating human immune proteins that have been implicated in severe Covid-19 disease.

The study was published online ahead of print in Cell Systems.

Many plants and animals use the art of mimicry to trick their prey or predators. Viruses employ a similar strategy: Viral proteins can mimic the three-dimensional shapes of their host's proteins to trick the host into helping the virus complete its life cycle.

"Viruses use mimicry for the same reason as plants and animals—deception," says Sagi Shapira, Ph.D., assistant professor of systems biology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. "We hypothesized that identifying viral-protein look-alikes would give us clues to the way viruses—including SARS-CoV-2—cause disease."