1. High seroreactivity against SARS-CoV-2 Spike epitopes in a pre SARS-CoV-2 cohort: implications for antibody testing and vaccine design
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Annika Rähni, Margus Planken, Miljana Bacevic, Antti Vaheri, Nadezhda Pupina, Arno Pihlak, Tõnis Timmusk, Eero Vasar, Liina Haring, Mariliis Jaago, Annela Avarlaid, Kaia Palm, Helle Sadam, Dan Lindholm, Eija Kalso, Pentti J. Tienari, Anu Planken, Amir M. Ghaemmaghami, and Pirkko J. Pussinen
- Subjects
viruses ,medicine.disease_cause ,Epitope ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Immune system ,Antigen ,medicine ,skin and connective tissue diseases ,Neutralizing antibody ,030304 developmental biology ,Coronavirus ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,0303 health sciences ,biology ,fungi ,Virology ,respiratory tract diseases ,3. Good health ,body regions ,chemistry ,Polyclonal antibodies ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,biology.protein ,Antibody ,Glycoprotein - Abstract
Little is known about the quality of polyclonal antibody responses in COVID-19 patients, and how it correlates with disease severity or patients' prior exposure to other pathogens. The whole polyclonal antibody repertoire in a retrospective cohort of 538 individuals was mapped against SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein, the main target of antibody immune responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Bioinformatic predictions identified 15 major B cell epitopes for S of SARS-CoV-2. Several epitopes localised in RBD of S including those spanning the ACE2-binding site, the highly conserved cryptic epitope of the neutralizing antibody of SARS-CoV, and fusion/entry domains of HR1 and HR2 of S protein of SARS-CoV-2. Intriguingly, some of these epitopes have cross-reactivity to antigens of common pathogens, potentially affecting SARS-CoV-2 infection outcome. High level of anti-Spike SARS-CoV-2 seroreactivity in populations with no history of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 is of clinical relevance and could underpin better understanding of COVID-19 pathophysiology in different populations and provide a blueprint for design of effective vaccines and developing better strategies for antibody testing.
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