tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Immunol
. 2022 Jan 5;12:790415.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.790415. eCollection 2021.
Functional Analysis of Human and Feline Coronavirus Cross-Reactive Antibodies Directed Against the SARS-CoV-2 Fusion Peptide
Nathalie Vanderheijden[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Annelies Stevaert[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jiexiong Xie[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xiaolei Ren[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Cyril Barbezange[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sam Noppen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Isabelle Desombere[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Bruno Verhasselt[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Peter Geldhof[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Nick Vereecke[SUP] 1 7 [/SUP], Veerle Stroobants[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dayoung Oh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Merijn Vanhee[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Lieve M J Naesens[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Hans J Nauwynck[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
To face the continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, broadly protective therapeutic antibodies are highly needed. We here focused on the fusion peptide (FP) region of the viral spike antigen since it is highly conserved among alpha- and betacoronaviruses. First, we found that coronavirus cross-reactive antibodies are commonly formed during infection, being omnipresent in sera from COVID-19 patients, in ~50% of pre-pandemic human sera (rich in antibodies against endemic human coronaviruses), and even in feline coronavirus-infected cats. Pepscan analyses demonstrated that a confined N-terminal region of the FP is strongly immunogenic across diverse coronaviruses. Peptide-purified human antibodies targeting this conserved FP epitope exhibited broad binding of alpha- and betacoronaviruses, besides weak and transient SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity. Being frequently elicited by coronavirus infection, these FP-binding antibodies might potentially exhibit Fc-mediated effector functions and influence the kinetics or severity of coronavirus infection and disease.
Keywords: S2 subunit; SARS-CoV-2; broadly neutralizing antibodies; coronaviruses; fusion peptide; pepscan; spike.
. 2022 Jan 5;12:790415.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.790415. eCollection 2021.
Functional Analysis of Human and Feline Coronavirus Cross-Reactive Antibodies Directed Against the SARS-CoV-2 Fusion Peptide
Nathalie Vanderheijden[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Annelies Stevaert[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Jiexiong Xie[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xiaolei Ren[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Cyril Barbezange[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sam Noppen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Isabelle Desombere[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Bruno Verhasselt[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Peter Geldhof[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Nick Vereecke[SUP] 1 7 [/SUP], Veerle Stroobants[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dayoung Oh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Merijn Vanhee[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Lieve M J Naesens[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Hans J Nauwynck[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35069571
- PMCID: PMC8766817
- DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.790415
Abstract
To face the continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, broadly protective therapeutic antibodies are highly needed. We here focused on the fusion peptide (FP) region of the viral spike antigen since it is highly conserved among alpha- and betacoronaviruses. First, we found that coronavirus cross-reactive antibodies are commonly formed during infection, being omnipresent in sera from COVID-19 patients, in ~50% of pre-pandemic human sera (rich in antibodies against endemic human coronaviruses), and even in feline coronavirus-infected cats. Pepscan analyses demonstrated that a confined N-terminal region of the FP is strongly immunogenic across diverse coronaviruses. Peptide-purified human antibodies targeting this conserved FP epitope exhibited broad binding of alpha- and betacoronaviruses, besides weak and transient SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity. Being frequently elicited by coronavirus infection, these FP-binding antibodies might potentially exhibit Fc-mediated effector functions and influence the kinetics or severity of coronavirus infection and disease.
Keywords: S2 subunit; SARS-CoV-2; broadly neutralizing antibodies; coronaviruses; fusion peptide; pepscan; spike.