The E protein is highly conserved among different variants and is involved in viral entry, packaging, production, and virulence.2,3 The E protein alone has been reported to cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like pathological damages.4 It is also a ligand of TLR2, which drives hyperactive cytokine storms.5 There is an urgent need to better understand the molecular mechanism of the interactions between viral proteins and host machinery to facilitate the development of more effective therapies via targeting critical viral proteins. Here, TLR2 is linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome.