Discordant Antigenic Properties of Soluble and Virion SARS-CoV-2 Spike Proteins.

ABSTRACT: Efforts to develop vaccine and immunotherapeutic countermeasures against the COVID-19 pandemic focus on targeting the trimeric spike (S) proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines and therapeutic design strategies must impart the characteristics of virion S from historical and emerging variants onto practical constructs such as soluble, stabilized trimers. The virus spike is a heterotrimer of two subunits: S1, which includes the receptor binding domain (RBD) that binds the cell surface receptor ACE2, and S2, which mediates membrane fusion. Previous studies suggest that the antigenic, structural, and functional characteristics of virion S may differ from current soluble surrogates. For example, it was reported that certain anti-glycan, HIV-1 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies bind soluble SARS-CoV-2

SUBMITTER: Kumar S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10974403 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature