Abstract
Some viruses contain mimics of host chemokine receptors that influence host immunity; however, such viral mimics have not yet been reported for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this study, I focused on C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) as a candidate chemokine receptor exploited by SARS-CoV-2. Similarities between the extracellular domain (ECD) of human CXCR2 and the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein S1 (CoV2S1) were investigated. Flow cytometric analysis of healthy donor-derived peripheral leukocytes was performed to examine the cross-reactivity between specific monoclonal antibodies against these two proteins. The results showed that CR3022, a monoclonal antibody to the receptor binding domain of CoV2S1, recognized the CXCR2 ECD, and a murine monoclonal antibody to human CXCR2 recognized recombinant CoV2S1. This reciprocal cross-reactivity suggests that CoV2S1 harbors a mimic of the CXCR2 ECD.