Immunogenicity difference between the SARS coronavirus and the bat SARS-like coronavirus spike (S) proteins.
SARS-like coronavirus (SL-CoV) in bats have a similar genomic organization to the human SARS-CoV. Their cognate gene products are highly conserved with the exception of the N-terminal region of the S proteins, which have only 63-64% sequence identity. The N-terminal region of coronavirus S protein is responsible for virus-receptor interaction. In this study, the immunogenicity of the SL-CoV S protein (S(SL)) was studied and compared with that of SARS-CoV (S(SARS)). DNA immunization in mice with S(SL) elicited a high titer of antibodies against HIV-pseudotyped S(SL). The sera had low cross-reactivity, but no neutralization activity, for the HIV-pseudotyped S(SARS). Studies using wild bat sera revealed that it is highly likely that the immunodominant epitopes overlap with the major neutralizing sites of the SL-CoV S protein. These results demonstrated that SL-CoV and SARS-CoV shared only a limited number of immunogenic epitopes in their S proteins and the major neutralization epitopes are substantially different. This work provides useful information for future development of differential serologic diagnosis and vaccines for coronaviruses with different S protein sequences.
Zhou
Peng
P
Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
Han
Zhenggang
Z
Wang
Lin-Fa
LF
Shi
Zhengli
Z
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000276:immunology*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D014765:Viral Vaccines; C578557:spike glycoprotein, SARS-CoV; C578553:spike protein, mouse hepatitis virus