Conserved and Novel Mouse CD8 T Cell Epitopes Within SARS-CoV-2 Spike Receptor Binding Domain Protein Identified Following Subunit Vaccination

Overview

Journal J Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2021 May 11

PMID 33972373

Citations 8

Authors

Bennett J Davenport

Thomas E Morrison

Ross M Kedl

Jared Klarquist

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The prior existence of human ACE2 protein-expressing mice used to study SARS-CoV and the rapid development of mouse-adapted virus strains have allowed the study of SARS-CoV-2 in mice, even as we are still learning about its natural pathology in humans. With myriad genetically altered strains on the C57BL/6 background and the abundance of immunological reagents available to interrogate its immune responses, the C57BL/6 mice may provide useful insight into the immunology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. To conduct more detailed studies on their T cell responses to vaccines and infection, the epitopes eliciting those responses must be characterized in further detail. In this study, we mapped CD8 T cell epitopes within the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in C57BL/6 mice. Our study identified five major CD8 T cell epitopes in immunized C57BL/6 mice, including one, VVLSFELL, presented by H-2K and common between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.

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