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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.02.12.946087

Candidate targets for immune responses to 2019-Novel Coronavirus (nCoV): sequence homology- and bioinformatic-based predictions

Grifoni, A.·Sidney, J.·Zhang, Y.·Scheuermann, R. H.·Peters, B. H.·Sette, A.
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Abstract

Effective countermeasures against the recent emergence and rapid expansion of the 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) require the development of data and tools to understand and monitor viral spread and immune responses. However, little information about the targets of immune responses to 2019-nCoV is available. We used the Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB) resource to catalog available data related to other coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV, which has high sequence similarity to 2019-nCoV, and is the best-characterized coronavirus in terms of epitope responses. We identified multiple specific regions in 2019-nCoV that have high homology to SARS virus. Parallel bionformatic predictions identified a priori potential B and T cell epitopes for 2019-nCoV. The independent identification of the same regions using two approaches reflects the high probability that these regions are targets for immune recognition of 2019-nCoV. ONE SENTENCE SUMMARYWe identified potential targets for immune responses to 2019-nCoV and provide essential information for understanding human immune responses to this virus and evaluation of diagnostic and vaccine candidates.

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Grifoni, A., Sidney, J., Zhang, Y., Scheuermann, R. H., Peters, B. H., Sette, A.. 2020-02-20. Candidate targets for immune responses to 2019-Novel Coronavirus (nCoV): sequence homology- and bioinformatic-based predictions. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.12.946087

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