Author:
Campos-Ruíz Mario Aldair,Illades-Aguiar Berenice,Del Moral-Hernández Oscar,Romo-Castillo Mariana,Salazar-García Marcela,Espinoza-Rojo Mónica,Vences-Velázquez Amalia,Cortés-Sarabia Karen,Luna-Pineda Victor M.
Abstract
Abstract
Background
The nucleocapsid (N) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an excellent immunogen that promotes the production of high-titer antibodies. N protein-derived peptides identified using a bioinformatics approach can potentially be used to develop a new generation of vaccines or diagnostic methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. However, further studies must demonstrate their capacity to be naturally processed by the immune system.
Objective
We aimed to examine the in vivo processing and recognition of in silico-identified peptides using the serum of immunized animals with the complete protein.
Methods
Recombinant N (Nrec) protein was subcutaneously administered to six Balb/c mice. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blotting, dot blotting, and immunoprecipitation were performed to evaluate the recognition of the complete protein and in silico-derived peptides.
Results
The serum of immunized mice recognized ~ 62.5 ng/µL of Nrec with high specificity to linear and conformational epitopes. Dot blot analysis showed that peptides Npep2 and Npep3 were the most reactive.
Conclusion
Our data confirm the high immunogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein and provide evidence on the antigenicity of two peptides located in the N-arm/RNA-binding domain (Npep2) and oligomerization domain/C-tail (Npep3), considered the biologically active site of the N protein.
Funder
Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Microbiology (medical),Microbiology