Conservation of HLA Spike Protein Epitopes Supports T Cell Cross-Protection in SARS-CoV-2 Vaccinated Individuals against the Potentially Zoonotic Coronavirus Khosta-2.

ABSTRACT: Heterologous vaccines, which induce immunity against several related pathogens, can be a very useful and rapid way to deal with new pandemics. In this study, the potential impact of licensed COVID-19 vaccines on cytotoxic and helper cell immune responses against Khosta-2, a novel sarbecovirus that productively infects human cells, was analyzed for the 567 and 41 most common HLA class I and II alleles, respectively. Computational predictions indicated that most of these 608 alleles, covering more than 90% of the human population, contain sufficient fully conserved T-cell epitopes between the Khosta-2 and SARS-CoV-2 spike-in proteins. Ninety percent of these fully conserved peptides for class I and 93% for class II HLA molecules were verified as epitopes recognized by CD8⁺ or CD4<

SUBMITTER: Martin-Galiano AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11172828 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature