SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes Inform Future Vaccination Strategies

Overview

Journal Front Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2022 Dec 12

PMID 36505475

Authors

Areez Shafqat

Mohamed H Omer

Omar Ahmad

Mahnoor Niaz

Humzah S Abdulkader

Shameel Shafqat

Ali Hassan Mushtaq

Abdullah Shaik

Ahmed N Elshaer

Junaid Kashir

Khaled Alkattan

Ahmed Yaqinuddin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

All currently approved COVID-19 vaccines utilize the spike protein as their immunogen. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) contain mutations in the spike protein, enabling them to escape infection- and vaccination-induced immune responses to cause reinfection. New vaccines are hence being researched intensively. Studying SARS-CoV-2 epitopes is essential for vaccine design, as identifying targets of broadly neutralizing antibody responses and immunodominant T-cell epitopes reveal candidates for inclusion in next-generation COVID-19 vaccines. We summarize the major studies which have reported on SARS-CoV-2 antibody and T-cell epitopes thus far. These results suggest that a future of pan-coronavirus vaccines, which not only protect against SARS-CoV-2 but numerous other coronaviruses, may be possible. The T-cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 have gotten less attention than neutralizing antibody epitopes but may provide new strategies to control SARS-CoV-2 infection. T-cells target many SARS-CoV-2 antigens other than spike, recognizing numerous epitopes within these antigens, thereby limiting the chance of immune escape by VOCs that mainly possess spike protein mutations. Therefore, augmenting vaccination-induced T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 may provide adequate protection despite broad antibody escape by VOCs.

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