Immunogenicity prediction of the SARS-CoV-2 protein responsible of COVID-19 infection in humans
Keywords:
IMMUNOGENICITY, VACCINE, SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME, SARS VIRUS, CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS, SIALYLTRANSFERASES, VACCINESAbstract
Background: the structural and functional characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein make it a relevant antigen, and a desirable target for vaccine and drug development, since its blockade or neutralization would hinder the whole infectious cycle.
Objective: to model, with the aid of bioinformatic tools, the immunogenicity of S glycoprotein, by identifying the peptides that could be recognized by human T and B lymphocytes.
Methods: 8 different sequences of S glycoprotein were aligned by using CLUSTAL O, in order to assess the conservation of the receptor-binding domain. HLA-A* 0201, HLA-DRB1* 0301 and HLA-DRB1* 0701 alleles were selected for T-cell epitope prediction, with the use of SYFPEITHI, IEDB and NetMHC/NetMHCII algorithms. In the case of linear B-cell epitopes, BepiPred-2.0, ABCpred, BcePred and BepiPred/IEDB were the chosen tools.
Results: a complete homology was found among the sequences used to compare the degree of conservation of the molecular structure, particularly in the receptor-binding domain. The region spanning from residues 207 to 222 contains B-cell and CD4+ T-cell epitopes, while within the positions 133-147 and 407-425, B-cell and CD8+ T-cell epitopes were abundant; all such regions are located in the external domain of the protein. In the receptor-binding motif, there are several B-cell epitopes and residues of direct interaction between S glycoprotein and ACE2.
Conclusions: the SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein has an immunogenic potential with which T and B responses can be generated.
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