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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.07.22.212761

SARS-CoV-2-induced humoral immunity through B cell epitope analysis and neutralizing activity in COVID-19 infected individuals in Japan

Yoshida, S.·Ono, C.·Hayashi, H.·Shiraishi, S.·Kazunori, T.·Arase, H.·Matsuura, Y.·Nakagami, H.
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Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2 through the analysis of B cell epitope and neutralizing activity in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. We obtained serum from thirteen COVID-19 patients. Most individuals revealed neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 assessed by a pseudotype virus-neutralizing assay. The antibody production against the spike glycoprotein (S protein) or receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 was elevated, with large individual differences, as assessed by ELISA. In the analysis of the predicted the linear B cell epitopes, two regions (671-690 aa. and 1146-1164 aa.), which were located in S1 and S2 but not in the RBD, were highly reactive with the sera from patients. In the further analysis of the B cell epitope within the S protein by utilizing a B cell epitope array, a hot spot in the N-terminal domain of the S protein but not the RBD was observed in individuals with neutralizing activity. Overall, the analysis of antibody production and B cell epitopes of the S protein from patient serum may provide a novel target for the vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2.

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Yoshida, S., Ono, C., Hayashi, H., Shiraishi, S., Kazunori, T., Arase, H., Matsuura, Y., Nakagami, H.. 2020-07-23. SARS-CoV-2-induced humoral immunity through B cell epitope analysis and neutralizing activity in COVID-19 infected individuals in Japan. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.22.212761

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