tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
China CDC Wkly
. 2022 Feb 4;4(5):83-87.
doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2021.258.
A COVID-19 T-Cell Response Detection Method Based on a Newly Identified Human CD8 [SUP]+[/SUP] T Cell Epitope from SARS-CoV-2 - Hubei Province, China, 2021
Jie Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dan Lu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Min Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maoshun Liu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sijia Yao[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jianbo Zhan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], William J Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], George F Gao[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Introduction: Similar to antibody detection, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific T-cell response evaluation is also pivotal among the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescents and the vaccinated populations. Nucleocapsid (N) protein is one of the main structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and can trigger T-cell responses in humans.
Methods: An overlapping peptide pool covering the full length of the N protein was designed, peptides with positive T-cell activating potency in COVID-19 convalescents were screened, and CD8[SUP]+[/SUP] T cell epitopes were further identified. The epitope was used to detect the SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8[SUP]+[/SUP] T cell responses in COVID-19 convalescents based in intracellular cytokine staining and tetramer staining in flow cytometry.
Results: A human leukocyte antigen A (HLA-A)*1101-restricted CD8[SUP]+[/SUP] T cell epitope, which could stimulate the production of IFN-γ via peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the convalescents was defined, and the tetramer generated with this epitope could detect SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in the PBMCs of the convalescents. The structural investigation eliminated that the epitope was a typical HLA-A*1101-restricted T-cell epitope which was conserved among all the sarbecoviruses.
Discussion: The newly identified SARS-CoV-2-derived T-cell epitope was helpful to detect the cellular immunity against different sarbecoviruses including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. This study provided an evaluation method and also a peptide candidate for the research and development of T-cell based vaccine for the virus.
Keywords: COVID-19; T-cell; detection method; epitope.
. 2022 Feb 4;4(5):83-87.
doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2021.258.
A COVID-19 T-Cell Response Detection Method Based on a Newly Identified Human CD8 [SUP]+[/SUP] T Cell Epitope from SARS-CoV-2 - Hubei Province, China, 2021
Jie Zhang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dan Lu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Min Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maoshun Liu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sijia Yao[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jianbo Zhan[SUP] 4 [/SUP], William J Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], George F Gao[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35186375
- PMCID: PMC8837460
- DOI: 10.46234/ccdcw2021.258
Abstract
Introduction: Similar to antibody detection, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific T-cell response evaluation is also pivotal among the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescents and the vaccinated populations. Nucleocapsid (N) protein is one of the main structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and can trigger T-cell responses in humans.
Methods: An overlapping peptide pool covering the full length of the N protein was designed, peptides with positive T-cell activating potency in COVID-19 convalescents were screened, and CD8[SUP]+[/SUP] T cell epitopes were further identified. The epitope was used to detect the SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8[SUP]+[/SUP] T cell responses in COVID-19 convalescents based in intracellular cytokine staining and tetramer staining in flow cytometry.
Results: A human leukocyte antigen A (HLA-A)*1101-restricted CD8[SUP]+[/SUP] T cell epitope, which could stimulate the production of IFN-γ via peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the convalescents was defined, and the tetramer generated with this epitope could detect SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in the PBMCs of the convalescents. The structural investigation eliminated that the epitope was a typical HLA-A*1101-restricted T-cell epitope which was conserved among all the sarbecoviruses.
Discussion: The newly identified SARS-CoV-2-derived T-cell epitope was helpful to detect the cellular immunity against different sarbecoviruses including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. This study provided an evaluation method and also a peptide candidate for the research and development of T-cell based vaccine for the virus.
Keywords: COVID-19; T-cell; detection method; epitope.