Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes: In Silico Study Towards Better Understanding of COVID-19 Disease—Paving the Way for Vaccine Development
The emergence of the COVID-19 outbreak at the end of 2019, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has, to date, led to over 13.6 million infections and nearly 600,000 deaths. Consequently, there is an urgent need to better understand the molecular factors triggering immune defense against the v...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/8/3/408 |
| _version_ | 1797561591286202368 |
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| author | Vipin Ranga Erik Niemelä Mahlet Z. Tamirat John E. Eriksson Tomi T. Airenne Mark S. Johnson |
| author_facet | Vipin Ranga Erik Niemelä Mahlet Z. Tamirat John E. Eriksson Tomi T. Airenne Mark S. Johnson |
| author_sort | Vipin Ranga |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The emergence of the COVID-19 outbreak at the end of 2019, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has, to date, led to over 13.6 million infections and nearly 600,000 deaths. Consequently, there is an urgent need to better understand the molecular factors triggering immune defense against the virus and to develop countermeasures to hinder its spread. Using in silico analyses, we showed that human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I cell-surface molecules vary in their capacity for binding different SARS-CoV-2-derived epitopes, i.e., short sequences of 8-11 amino acids, and pinpointed five specific SARS-CoV-2 epitopes that are likely to be presented to cytotoxic T-cells and hence activate immune responses. The identified epitopes, each one of nine amino acids, have high sequence similarity to the equivalent epitopes of SARS-CoV virus, which are known to elicit an effective T cell response in vitro. Moreover, we give a structural explanation for the binding of SARS-CoV-2-epitopes to MHC molecules. Our data can help us to better understand the differences in outcomes of COVID-19 patients and may aid the development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and possible future outbreaks of novel coronaviruses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:17:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9737d2b7623a4ad4955a11704360de5e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:17:07Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj.art-9737d2b7623a4ad4955a11704360de5e2023-11-20T07:39:46ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2020-07-018340810.3390/vaccines8030408Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes: In Silico Study Towards Better Understanding of COVID-19 Disease—Paving the Way for Vaccine DevelopmentVipin Ranga0Erik Niemelä1Mahlet Z. Tamirat2John E. Eriksson3Tomi T. Airenne4Mark S. Johnson5Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, FinlandCell Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, FinlandStructural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, FinlandCell Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, FinlandStructural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, FinlandStructural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, 20520 Turku, FinlandThe emergence of the COVID-19 outbreak at the end of 2019, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has, to date, led to over 13.6 million infections and nearly 600,000 deaths. Consequently, there is an urgent need to better understand the molecular factors triggering immune defense against the virus and to develop countermeasures to hinder its spread. Using in silico analyses, we showed that human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I cell-surface molecules vary in their capacity for binding different SARS-CoV-2-derived epitopes, i.e., short sequences of 8-11 amino acids, and pinpointed five specific SARS-CoV-2 epitopes that are likely to be presented to cytotoxic T-cells and hence activate immune responses. The identified epitopes, each one of nine amino acids, have high sequence similarity to the equivalent epitopes of SARS-CoV virus, which are known to elicit an effective T cell response in vitro. Moreover, we give a structural explanation for the binding of SARS-CoV-2-epitopes to MHC molecules. Our data can help us to better understand the differences in outcomes of COVID-19 patients and may aid the development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and possible future outbreaks of novel coronaviruses.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/8/3/408SARS-CoV-2COVID-19SARS-CoVin silico analysisMHC class I epitopesHLA |
| spellingShingle | Vipin Ranga Erik Niemelä Mahlet Z. Tamirat John E. Eriksson Tomi T. Airenne Mark S. Johnson Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes: In Silico Study Towards Better Understanding of COVID-19 Disease—Paving the Way for Vaccine Development Vaccines SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 SARS-CoV in silico analysis MHC class I epitopes HLA |
| title | Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes: In Silico Study Towards Better Understanding of COVID-19 Disease—Paving the Way for Vaccine Development |
| title_full | Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes: In Silico Study Towards Better Understanding of COVID-19 Disease—Paving the Way for Vaccine Development |
| title_fullStr | Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes: In Silico Study Towards Better Understanding of COVID-19 Disease—Paving the Way for Vaccine Development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes: In Silico Study Towards Better Understanding of COVID-19 Disease—Paving the Way for Vaccine Development |
| title_short | Immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes: In Silico Study Towards Better Understanding of COVID-19 Disease—Paving the Way for Vaccine Development |
| title_sort | immunogenic sars cov 2 epitopes in silico study towards better understanding of covid 19 disease paving the way for vaccine development |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 SARS-CoV in silico analysis MHC class I epitopes HLA |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/8/3/408 |
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