SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta variants conserve epitopes present in Abdala and Soberana Cuban anti-covid-19 vaccines

Authors

  • Orlando Rafael Serrano-Barrera Hospital General Docente “Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna”. Las Tunas. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Las Tunas. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Zoilo Enrique Marinello Vidaurreta”. Las Tunas. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2605-6999
  • María Mercedes Bello-Rodríguez Hospital General Docente “Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna”. Las Tunas. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Las Tunas. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Zoilo Enrique Marinello Vidaurreta”. Las Tunas. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8012-1213
  • Olga Lina Pupo-Rodríguez Hospital General Docente “Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna”. Las Tunas. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Las Tunas. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Zoilo Enrique Marinello Vidaurreta”. Las Tunas. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6473-8421
  • María de los Angeles Robinson-Agramonte Centro Internacional de Restauración Neurológica. La Habana. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8879-3839
  • Oliver Pérez Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Preclínicas “Victoria de Girón”. La Habana. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8117-4939

Keywords:

GLYCOPROTEINS, SARS VIRUS, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, VACCINES, VACCINATION, IMMUNOGENICITY, VACCINE

Abstract

Background: a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, known as omicron, has been classified as “of concern” by the World Health Organization, due to the high number of mutations and its increased ability to disseminate worldwide.

Objective: to evaluate in silico the protection that the Cuban anti-covid-19 vaccines may offer against omicron variant, through the identification of shared epitopes.

Methods: with the use of bioinfomatic tools, T y B epitopes from the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 S protein, were compared in primary sequences from Abdala and Soberana vaccines, as well as in variants alpha, beta, gamma, delta and omicron, all obtained from GenBank and aligned in the region between residues 319-541. The percent of identical epitopes, those with some change in the sequence and different were all calculated.

Results: conserved T epitopes were found between the vaccines and delta and omicron variants: FTNVYADSFVIRGDE (392-406), SFVIRGDEVRQIAPG (399-413), NLKPFERDI (460-468), ELLHAPATV (516-524) and STNLVKNKCVNFNFN (530-544). The region spanning from residues 522 and 540 included B epitopes identified by three algorithms, both in the vaccines and all the variants. Among several isolations of the omicron variant, a number of sequence changes occurs, leading to heterogeneous lines and potential modifications in their immunogenicity.

Conclusions: epitopes shared between Cuban vaccines and ómicron variant justify the usefulness of vaccination with the immunogens used in Cuba, as well as boosters that will lead to some partial protection.

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Author Biographies

Orlando Rafael Serrano-Barrera, Hospital General Docente “Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna”. Las Tunas. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Las Tunas. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Zoilo Enrique Marinello Vidaurreta”. Las Tunas.

Especialista de Segundo Grado en Inmunología. Máster en Enfermedades Infecciosas. Investigador Auxiliar. Profesor Auxiliar

María Mercedes Bello-Rodríguez, Hospital General Docente “Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna”. Las Tunas. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Las Tunas. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Zoilo Enrique Marinello Vidaurreta”. Las Tunas.

Especialista de Segundo Grado en Inmunología. Profesora Asistente

Olga Lina Pupo-Rodríguez, Hospital General Docente “Dr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna”. Las Tunas. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Las Tunas. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Zoilo Enrique Marinello Vidaurreta”. Las Tunas.

Especialista de Segundo Grado en Inmunología. Máster en Enfermedades Infecciosas. Profesora Asistente

María de los Angeles Robinson-Agramonte, Centro Internacional de Restauración Neurológica. La Habana.

Doctora en Ciencias Médicas. Investigadora Titular. Profesora Titular

Oliver Pérez, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas y Preclínicas “Victoria de Girón”. La Habana.

Doctor en Ciencias Médicas. Investigador Titular. Profesor Titular

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Published

2022-01-06

How to Cite

1.
Serrano-Barrera OR, Bello-Rodríguez MM, Pupo-Rodríguez OL, Robinson-Agramonte M de los A, Pérez O. SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta variants conserve epitopes present in Abdala and Soberana Cuban anti-covid-19 vaccines. Rev. electron. Zoilo [Internet]. 2022 Jan. 6 [cited 2025 Sep. 14];47(1):e2999. Available from: https://revzoilomarinello.sld.cu/index.php/zmv/article/view/2999

Issue

Vol. 47 No. 1 (2022): January-February

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Original articles

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