생화학분자생물학회

	Changyoun Kim( changyoun.kim@nih.gov )
	2021-present	Staff Scientist, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, USA
	2016-2020	Scientist, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, USA
	2013-2016	Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, USA
	2012-2013	Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technology, Konkuk University, Republic of Korea
	2008-2012	PhD, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technology, Konkuk University, Republic of Korea
	2006-2008	MS, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technology, Konkuk University, Republic of Korea
	1999-2006	BS, Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, Republic of Korea

Does SARS-CoV-2 affect neurodegenerative disorders? TLR2, a potential receptor for SARS-CoV-2 in the CNS

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory system coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has created significant challenges for scientists seeking to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to identify the best therapies for infected patients. Although ACE2 is a known receptor for the virus and has been shown to mediate viral entry into the lungs, accumulating reports highlight the presence of neurological symptoms resulting from infection. As ACE2 expression is low in the central nervous system (CNS), these neurological symptoms are unlikely to be caused by ACE2-virus binding. In this review, we will discuss a proposed interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in the CNS. TLR2 is an innate immune receptor that recognizes exogenous microbial components but has also been shown to interact with multiple viral components, including the envelope (E) protein of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, TLR2 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Based on these observations, we hypothesize that TLR2 may play a critical role in the response to SARS-CoV-2 infiltration in the CNS, thereby resulting in the induction or acceleration of AD and PD pathologies in patients.

Exp Mol Med. 2022 Apr;54(4):447-454. doi: 10.1038/s12276-022-00755-7.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35396576/