Identification of B-Cell Linear Epitopes in the Nucleocapsid (N) Protein B-Cell Linear Epitopes Conserved among the Main SARS-CoV-2 Variants.

ABSTRACT: The Nucleocapsid (N) protein is highlighted as the main target for COVID-19 diagnosis by antigen detection due to its abundance in circulation early during infection. However, the effects of the described mutations in the N protein epitopes and the efficacy of antigen testing across SARS-CoV-2 variants remain controversial and poorly understood. Here, we used immunoinformatics to identify five epitopes in the SARS-CoV-2 N protein (N_(34-48), N_(89-104), N_(185-197), N_(277-287), and N_(378-390)) and validate their reactivity against samples from COVID-19 convalescent patients. All identified epitopes are fully conserved in the main SARS-CoV-2 variants and highly conserved with SARS-CoV. Moreover, the epitopes N_(185-197) and N

SUBMITTER: Rodrigues-da-Silva RN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10145278 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature