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MULTIEPITOPE PROTEINS FOR THE DIFFERENTIAL DETECTION OF IGG ANTIBODIES AGAINST RBD OF THE SPIKE PROTEIN AND NON-RBD REGIONS OF SARS-COV-2
COVID-19
Epítopos de células B lineares
Sorodiagnóstico
IgG
Coronavírus
Author
Affilliation
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the extent of global connectivity and collective
vulnerability to emerging diseases. From its suspected origins in Wuhan, China, it spread to all
corners of the world in a matter of months. The absence of high-performance, rapid diagnostic
methods that could identify asymptomatic carriers contributed to its worldwide transmission. Serological
tests offer numerous benefits compared to other assay platforms to screen large populations.
First-generation assays contain targets that represent proteins from SARS-CoV-2. While they could
be quickly produced, each actually has a mixture of specific and non-specific epitopes that vary in
their reactivity for antibodies. To generate the next generation of the assay, epitopes were identified
in three SARS-Cov-2 proteins (S, N, and Orf3a) by SPOT synthesis analysis. After their similarity to
other pathogen sequences was analyzed, 11 epitopes outside of the receptor-binding domain (RBD)
of the spike protein that showed high reactivity and uniqueness to the virus. These were incorporated
into a ß-barrel protein core to create a highly chimeric protein. Another de novo protein was designed
that contained only epitopes in the RBD. In-house ELISAs suggest that both multiepitope proteins
can serve as targets for high-performance diagnostic tests. Our approach to bioengineer chimeric
proteins is highly amenable to other pathogens and immunological uses.
Keywords in Portuguese
SARS-CoV-2COVID-19
Epítopos de células B lineares
Sorodiagnóstico
IgG
Coronavírus
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