Identification of mouse CD4⁺ T cell epitopes in SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 spike and nucleocapsid for use in peptide:MHCII tetramers.

ABSTRACT: Understanding adaptive immunity against SARS-CoV-2 is a major requisite for the development of effective vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. CD4⁺ T cells play an integral role in this process primarily by generating antiviral cytokines and providing help to antibody-producing B cells. To empower detailed studies of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4⁺ T cell responses in mouse models, we comprehensively mapped I-A^b-restricted epitopes for the spike and nucleocapsid proteins of the BA.1 variant of concern via IFNγ ELISpot assay. This was followed by the generation of corresponding peptide:MHCII tetramer reagents to directly stain epitope-specific T cells. Using this rigorous validation strategy, we identified 6 reliably immunogenic epitopes in spike and 3 in nucleocap

SUBMITTER: Moreno LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10680761 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature