A strategy for searching antigenic regions in the SARS-CoV spike protein

In the face of the worldwide threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to human life, some of the most urgent challenges are to develop fast and accurate analytical methods for early diagnosis of this disease as well as to create a safe anti-viral vaccine for prevention. To these ends, we investigated the antigenicity of the spike protein (S protein), a major structural protein in the SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Based upon the theoretical analysis for hydrophobicity of the S protein, 18 peptides were synthesized. Using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA),these peptides were screened in the sera from SARS patients. According to these results, two fragments of the S gene were amplified by PCR and cloned into pET-32a. Both S fragments were expressed in the BL-21 strain and further purified with an affinity chromatography. These recombinant S fragments were confirmed to have positive cross-reactions with SARS sera, either by Western blot or by ELISA. Our results demonstrated that the potenti     

Two-way antigenic cross-reactivity between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and group 1 animal CoVs is mediated through an antigenic site in the N-terminal region of the SARS-CoV nucleoprotein

In 2002, severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) emerged in humans, causing a global epidemic. By phylogenetic analysis, SARS-CoV is distinct from known CoVs and most closely related to group 2 CoVs. However, no antigenic cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV and known CoVs was conclusively and consistently demonstrated except for group 1 animal CoVs. We analyzed this cross-reactivity by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot analysis using specific antisera to animal CoVs and SARS-CoV and SARS patient convalescent-phase or negative sera. Moderate two-way cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV and porcine CoVs (transmissible gastroenteritis CoV [TGEV] and porcine respiratory CoV [PRCV]) was mediated through the N but not the spike protein, whereas weaker cross-reactivity occurred with feline (feline infectious peritonitis virus) and canine CoVs. Using Escherichia coli-expressed recombinant SARS-CoV N protein and fragments, the cross-reactive region was localized between amino acids (aa) 120 to 208. The N-protein fragments comprising aa 360 to 412 and aa 1 to 213 reacted specifically with SARS convalescent-phase sera but not with negative human sera in ELISA; the fragment comprising aa 1 to 213 cross-reacted with antisera to animal CoVs, whereas the fragment comprising aa 360 to 412 did not cross-react and could be a potential candidate for SARS diagnosis. Particularly noteworthy, a single substitution at aa 120 of PRCV N protein diminished the cross-reactivity. We also demonstrated that the cross-reactivity is not universal for all group 1 CoVs, because HCoV-NL63 did not cross-react with SARS-CoV. One-way cross-reactivity of HCoV-NL63 with group 1 CoVs was localized to aa 1 to 39 and at least one other antigenic site in the N-protein C terminus, differing from the cross-reactive region identified in SARS-CoV N protein. The observed cross-reactivity is not a consequence of a higher level of amino acid identity between SARS-CoV and porcine CoV nucleoproteins, because sequence comparisons indicated that SARS-CoV N protein has amino acid identity similar to that of infectious bronchitis virus N protein and shares a higher level of identity with bovine CoV N protein within the cross-reactive region. The TGEV and SARS-CoV N proteins are RNA chaperons with long disordered regions. We speculate that during natural infection, antibodies target similar short antigenic sites within the N proteins of SARS-CoV and porcine group 1 CoVs that are exposed to an immune response. Identification of the cross-reactive and non-cross-reactive N-protein regions allows development of SARS-CoV-specific antibody assays for screening animal and human sera.     

Detection of antibodies against SARS-Coronavirus using recombinant truncated nucleocapsid proteins by ELISA

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a lifethreatening emerging respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV. The nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV is highly antigenic and may be a suitable candidate for diagnostic applications. We constructed truncated recombinant N proteins (N1 [1-422 aa], N2 [1- 109 aa], and N3 [110-422 aa]) and determined their antigenicity by Western blotting using convalescent SARS serum. The recombinants containing N1 and N3 reacted with convalescent SARS serum in Western blotting. However, the recombinant with N2 did not. In ELISA using N1 or N3 as the antigens, positive results were observed in 10 of 10 (100%) SARS-CoV-positive human sera. None of 50 healthy sera gave positive results in either assay. These data indicate that the ELISA using N1 or N3 has high sensitivity and specificity. These results suggest that the middle or C-terminal region of the SARS N protein is important for eliciting antibodies against SARS-CoV during the immune response, and ELISA reactions using N1 or N3 may be a valuable tool for SARS diagnosis.     

Identification of immunodominant sites on the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus: implication for developing SARS diagnostics and vaccines

The spike (S) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is not only responsible for receptor binding and virus fusion, but also a major Ag among the SARS-CoV proteins that induces protective Ab responses. In this study, we showed that the S protein of SARS-CoV is highly immunogenic during infection and immunizations, and contains five linear immunodominant sites (sites I to V) as determined by Pepscan analysis with a set of synthetic peptides overlapping the entire S protein sequence against the convalescent sera from SARS patients and antisera from small animals immunized with inactivated SARS-CoV. Site IV located in the middle region of the S protein (residues 528-635) is a major immunodominant epitope. The synthetic peptide S(603-634), which overlaps the site IV sequence reacted with all the convalescent sera from 42 SARS patient, but none of the 30 serum samples from healthy blood donors, suggesting its potential application as an Ag for developing SARS diagnostics. This study also provides information useful for designing SARS vaccines and understanding the SARS pathogenesis.     

SARS-CoV N蛋白与人冠状病毒HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E的交叉反应表位及特异表位的确定

为确定SARS-CoV N蛋白的特异抗原表位,对3种人冠状病毒SARS-CoV、HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E N蛋白之间的交叉免疫反应进行了系统研究。构建了分别表达SARS-CoV、HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E N蛋白的重组痘苗病毒,并制备了相应的小鼠免疫血清。用间接免疫荧光方法,检测了3种N蛋白的表达及其与3种冠状病毒免疫动物血清和SARS病人恢复期血清之间的反应。与此同时,用Western blot方法分析了原核表达的39个不同区段的SARS-CoV N蛋白与3种冠状病毒动物免疫血清和SARS病人恢复期血清之间的交叉反应性。免疫荧光检测结果表明,SARS-CoV、HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E3种病毒的N蛋白在重组痘苗病毒感染的HeLa细胞中均可以特异表达;3种N蛋白之间存在明显交叉免疫反应。Western blot结果显示,SARS-CoV N蛋白的表位主要位于30~60aa、170~184aa、301~320aa和360~422aa;与HCoV-OC43的交叉反应表位主要位于30~60aa、90~120aa、204~214aa和320~360aa;与HCoV-229E的交叉反应表位主要位于30~60aa、150~160aa和301~360aa。含SARS-CoV N蛋白特异表位的重组肽N155b(60~214aa)和N185(30~214aa)只与SARS病人恢复期血清和灭活SARS-CoV免疫小鼠的血清反应,而不与灭活HCoV-OC43和HCoV-229E免疫的山羊血清产生交叉反应。上述结果为使用SARS-CoV N蛋白抗原进行特异诊断试剂的研究,提供了重要的实验依据。     

Antigenicity and receptor-binding ability of recombinant SARS coronavirus spike protein

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an emerging infectious disease associated with a novel coronavirus and causing worldwide outbreaks. SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is an enveloped RNA virus, which contains several structural proteins. Among these proteins, spike (S) protein is responsible for binding to specific cellular receptors and is a major antigenic determinant, which induces neutralizing antibody. In order to analyze the antigenicity and receptor-binding ability of SARS-CoV S protein, we expressed the S protein in Escherichia coli using a pET expression vector. After the isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside induction, S protein was expressed in the soluble form and purified by nickel-affinity chromatography to homogeneity. The amount of S protein recovered was 0.2-0.3mg/100ml bacterial culture. The S protein was recognized by sera from SARS patients by ELISA and Western blot, which indicated that recombinant S protein retained its antigenicity. By biotinylated ELISA and Western blot using biotin-labeled S protein as the probe, we identified 130-kDa and 140-kDa proteins in Vero cells that might be the cellular receptors responsible for SARS-CoV infection. Taken together, these results suggested that recombinant S protein exhibited the antigenicity and receptor-binding ability, and it could be a good candidate for further developing SARS vaccine and anti-SARS therapy.     

SARS冠状病毒M蛋白的原核表达及其DNA疫苗构建

为探讨SARS-CoV的M蛋白的免疫学特性以及M蛋白作为SARS-CoV病毒疫苗组分的可行性和必要性.分别用pET-15b和pET-22b在大肠杆菌中表达SARS-CoV的M蛋白,亲和层析纯化后作为抗原应用.同时,将M蛋白的编码基因克隆进分泌型真核表达载体pSecTagB中得到重组质粒pSecM作为DNA疫苗,免疫BALB/c小白鼠、制备SARS-CoV M蛋白的抗血清.并用纯化后的M蛋白建立的SARS-CoV M抗体ELISA检测技术研究所构建的M-DNA疫苗的免疫效果.结果表明:两种重组M蛋白在大肠杆菌中均以可溶性形式得到高效表达,经与华大产的用灭活SARS全病毒制备的SARS-CoV抗体ELISA检测试剂盒比较实验,证明该原核表达的重组M蛋白能与SARS确诊病人血清以及M-DNA免疫鼠血清发生特异性抗原抗体反应.这两种重组M蛋白有可能作为抗原组分用于临床SARS-CoV检测中;所构建的SARS-CoV的M基因核酸疫苗能在小鼠体内产生特异性抗体,提示M蛋白在SARS-CoV疫苗尤其是组分疫苗的研制中应加以考虑,为DNA疫苗的开发提供了依据.     

SARS 冠状病毒 S 蛋白受体结合结构域的表达及其表位作图

严重急性呼吸综合征 (SARS) 是一种新出现的人类传染病,该病的病原是 SARS 冠状病毒 (SARS-CoV). S 蛋白是 SARS 冠状病毒的一种主要结构蛋白,它在病毒与宿主细胞受体结合以及诱导机体产生中和抗体中起重要作用 . 研究表明 S 蛋白与受体结合的核心区域为第 318 ~ 510 氨基酸残基的片段 . 首先克隆并用 pGEX-6p-1 载体融合表达了该受体结合结构域,并且通过蛋白质印迹分析表明,该受体结合结构域融合蛋白能被 SARS 康复患者血清和 S 蛋白特异的单克隆抗体所识别 . 为了对这一区域进行抗原表位作图,进一步设计了一套 23 个覆盖受体结合结构域的长 16 个氨基酸残基的部分重叠短肽,并进行了 GST 融合表达 . 用免疫动物血清和单克隆抗体 D3D1 对 23 个融合蛋白进行蛋白质印迹和 ELISA 免疫反应性分析,结果鉴定出两个抗原表位 SRBD3(F334PSVYAWERKKISNCV349) 和表位 D3D1 (K447LRPFERDI455). 其结果对进一步分析 S 蛋白结构与功能以及诊断试剂和基因工程疫苗的研究有一定意义 .     

Antibody responses to individual proteins of SARS coronavirus and their neutralization activities

A novel coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV), was identified as the causative agent of SARS. The profile of specific antibodies to individual proteins of the virus is critical to the development of vaccine and diagnostic tools. In this study, 13 recombinant proteins associated with four structural proteins (S, E, M and N) and five putative uncharacterized proteins (3a, 3b, 6, 7a and 9b) of the SARS-CoV were prepared and used for screening and monitoring their specific IgG antibodies in SARS patient sera by protein microarray. Antibodies to proteins S, 3a, N and 9b were detected in the sera from convalescent-phase SARS patients, whereas those to proteins E, M, 3b, 6 and 7a were undetected. In the detectable specific antibodies, anti-S and anti-N were dominant and could persist in the sera of SARS patients until week 30. Among the rabbit antisera to recombinant proteins S3, N, 3a and 9b, only anti-S3 serum showed significant neutralizing activity to the SARS-CoV infection in Vero E6 cells. The results suggest (1) that anti-S and anti-N antibodies are diagnostic markers and in particular that S3 is immunogenic and therefore is a good candidate as a subunit vaccine antigen; and (2) that, from a virus structure viewpoint, the presence in some human sera of antibodies reacting with two recombinant polypeptides, 3a and 9b, supports the hypothesis that they are synthesized during the virus cycle.     

Biochemical and immunological studies of nucleocapsid proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome and 229E human coronaviruses

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a serious health threat and its early diagnosis is important for infection control and potential treatment of the disease. Diagnostic tools require rapid and accurate methods, of which a capture ELISA method may be useful. Toward this goal, we have prepared and characterized soluble full-length nucleocapsid proteins (N protein) from SARS and 229E human coronaviruses. N proteins form oligomers, mostly as dimers at low concentration. These two N proteins degrade rapidly upon storage and the major degraded N protein is the C-terminal fragment of amino acid (aa) 169-422. Taken together with other data, we suggest that N protein is a two-domain protein, with the N-terminal aa 50-150 as the RNA-binding domain and the C-terminal aa 169-422 as the dimerization domain. Polyclonal antibodies against the SARS N protein have been produced and the strong binding sites of the anti-nucleocapsid protein (NP) antibodies produced were mapped to aa 1-20, aa 150-170 and aa 390-410. These sites are generally consistent with those mapped by sera obtained from SARS patients. The SARS anti-NP antibody was able to clearly detect SARS virus grown in Vero E6 cells and did not cross-react with the NP from the human coronavirus 229E. We have predicted several antigenic sites (15-20 amino acids) of S, M and N proteins and produced antibodies against those peptides, some of which could be recognized by sera obtained from SARS patients. Antibodies against the NP peptides could detect the cognate N protein clearly. Further refinement of these antibodies, particularly large-scale production of monoclonal antibodies, could lead to the development of useful diagnostic kits for diseases associated with SARS and other human coronaviruses.     

Proteomic analysis on structural proteins of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus

Recently, a new coronavirus was isolated from the lung tissue of autopsy sample and nasal/throat swabs of the patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the causative association with SARS was determined. To reveal further the characteristics of the virus and to provide insight about the molecular mechanism of SARS etiology, a proteomic strategy was utilized to identify the structural proteins of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) isolated from Vero E6 cells infected with the BJ-01 strain of the virus. At first, Western blotting with the convalescent sera from SARS patients demonstrated that there were various structural proteins of SARS-CoV in the cultured supernatant of virus infected-Vero E6 cells and that nucleocaspid (N) protein had a prominent immunogenicity to the convalescent sera from the patients with SARS, while the immune response of spike (S) protein probably binding with membrane (M) glycoprotein was much weaker. Then, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to separate the complex protein constituents, and the strategy of continuous slicing from loading well to the bottom of the gels was utilized to search thoroughly the structural proteins of the virus. The proteins in sliced slots were trypsinized in-gel and identified by mass spectrometry. Three structural proteins named S, N and M proteins of SARS-CoV were uncovered with the sequence coverage of 38.9, 93.1 and 28.1% respectively. Glycosylation modification in S protein was also analyzed and four glycosylation sites were discovered by comparing the mass spectra before and after deglycosylation of the peptides with PNGase F digestion. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry determination showed that relative molecular weight of intact N protein is 45 929 Da, which is very close to its theoretically calculated molecular weight 45 935 Da based on the amino acid sequence deduced from the genome with the first amino acid methionine at the N-terminus depleted and second, serine, acetylated, indicating that phosphorylation does not happen at all in the predicted phosphorylation sites within infected cells nor in virus particles. Intriguingly, a series of shorter isoforms of N protein was observed by SDS-PAGE and identified by mass spectrometry characterization. For further confirmation of this phenomenon and its related mechanism, recombinant N protein of SARS-CoV was cleaved in vitro by caspase-3 and -6 respectively. The results demonstrated that these shorter isoforms could be the products from cleavage of caspase-3 rather than that of caspase-6. Further, the relationship between the caspase cleavage and the viral infection to the host cell is discussed.     

血中检测SARS冠状病毒N蛋白在SARS实验室早期诊断中的作用

为明确严重急性呼吸综合症(SARS)冠状病毒N蛋白在SARS实验室早期诊断中的作用,通过微量中和试验及酶联免疫方法、间接免疫荧光法检测疑似病人恢复期血清(大于28天)中SARS-IgG抗体,确诊SARS患者。同时收集发病不同时期SARS及普通发热病人血清,利用酶联免疫方法检测SARS-CoVN蛋白,并与荧光定量PCR早期诊断方法相比较。共检测：广州地区2003年12月～2004．年1月新发4例确诊SARS患者不同时期的血液和咽漱液标本;恢复期血清SARS-CoV中和抗体阳性病人不同时期的血清46份;广州地区2003年1月～4月临床确诊SARS患者159例的血清和56例疑似患者血清;非SARS普通发热病人血清97份;正常人体检血清100份。结果：4例新发SARS患者的不同时期标本中,3例患者急性期血均检出N蛋白,优于常用的荧光定量PCR检测方法。46份SARS-CoV中和抗体阳性的血清标本,N蛋白检出率为100％。159例临床确诊病例中,发病早期5天以内SARS-CoVN蛋白的检出率为92．3％,随后呈现逐步下降的趋势,在发病第18天仍可检出。56例临床疑似患者发病早期也有23．2％检出率。而97例普通发热病人及100份正常人血清中均未能检测出SARS-CoVN蛋白。表明在血清中检测SARS冠状病毒N蛋白的方法敏感性和特异性都好,对SARS实验室早期诊断具有重要作用。     

Identification of an epitope of SARS-coronavirus nucleocapsid protein

The nucleocapsid (N) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a majorvirion structural protein. In this study, two epitopes (N1 and N2) of the N protein of SARS-CoV were predicted by bioinformatics analysis. After immunization with two peptides, the peptides-specific antibodies were isolated from the immunized rabbits. The further experiments demonstrated that N1 peptide-induced polyclonal antibodies had a high affinity to bind to E. coli expressed N protein of SARS-CoV. Furthermore, itwas confirmed that N1 peptide-specific IgG antibodies were detectable in the sera of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients. The results indicated that an epitope of the N protein has been identified andN protein specific Abs were produced by peptide immunization, which will be useful for the study of SARS-CoV.     

抗体与SARS研究

在非典型性肺炎（SARS）的研究过程中,抗体无论在临床医学领域,还是在基础病毒学研究领域都发挥着重要的作用。利用重组蛋白或者人工合成的多肽免疫得到的针对SARS病毒特异性的单克隆、多克隆抗体可以用于SARS病人的临床血清学检测、SARS的预防治疗,还可以用于病毒蛋白的功能性研究。因此,抗体在类似SARS这样的感染性疾病研究过程中有着极大的应用价值。     

SARS冠状病毒NS融合蛋白的重组表达纯化与免疫学性质分析(英文)

刺突蛋白(S)和核心蛋白(N)是SARS冠状病毒的主要结构蛋白.在病毒细胞受体结合和病毒包装过程起重要作用.重组融合表达这2种蛋白具有较高的诊断学价值.对SARS病毒N蛋白和S蛋白氨基酸序列进行计算机分析,选择含有优势抗原表位的N蛋白1～227位氨基酸片段和S蛋白450～650位氨基酸片段,采用序列重叠延伸策略(sequenceoverlappingextension,SOE)构建编码N1227LinkerS450650新型融合蛋白的基因片段,导入原核表达载体,实现融合蛋白在大肠杆菌的高效表达.利用组氨酸标签亲和层析的方法纯化,获得高纯度的融合蛋白.对该融合蛋白的结构特征模拟分析的结果显示,其免疫化学性质均无显著改变.采用ELISA和Western印迹方法对其识别SARS冠状病毒特异性抗体的能力进行初步鉴定,显示该融合蛋白具有较好的抗原性和特异性,可有效特异性地检测恢复期SARS病人血清中抗SARS冠状病毒结构蛋白的抗体,可以作为SARS冠状病毒感染的辅助诊断手段.     

Characterization of the 3a protein of SARS-associated coronavirus in infected vero E6 cells and SARS patients

Proteomics was used to identify a protein encoded by ORF 3a in a SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Immuno-blotting revealed that interchain disulfide bonds might be formed between this protein and the spike protein. ELISA indicated that sera from SARS patients have significant positive reactions with synthesized peptides derived from the 3a protein. These results are concordant with that of a spike protein-derived peptide. A tendency exists for co-mutation between the 3a protein and the spike protein of SARS-CoV isolates, suggesting that the function of the 3a protein correlates with the spike protein. Taken together, the 3a protein might be tightly correlated to the spike protein in the SARS-CoV functions. The 3a protein may serve as a new clinical marker or drug target for SARS treatment.     

Identification of two antigenic epitopes on SARS-CoV spike protein

The spike (S) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a major virion structural protein. It plays an important role in interaction with receptor and inducing neutralizing antibodies. In the study, six tentative antigenic epitopes (S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6) of the spike protein of SARS-CoV were predicted by bio-informatics analysis, and a multi-epitope chimeric gene of S1-S2-S3-S4-S5-S6 was synthesized and fused to downstream GST gene in pGEX-6p-1. The Western blotting demonstrated that SARS patient convalescent serum could recognize the recombinant fusion protein. A number of monoclonal antibodies were developed against the fusion protein. In further, the six predicted epitope genes were individually fused to GST of pGEX-6p-1 and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21, respectively. Among six fusion peptides, S5 reacted with monoclonal antibody D3C5 and S2 reacted with monoclonal antibody D3D1 against spike protein of SARS-CoV. The epitopes recognized by monoclonal antibodies D3C5 and D3D1 are linear, and correspond to 447-458 and 789-799 amino acids of spike protein of SARS-CoV, respectively. Identification of antigenic epitope of spike protein of SARS-CoV could provide the basis for the development of immunity-based prophylactic, therapeutic, and diagnostic techniques for the control of severe acute respiratory syndrome.     

SARS冠状病毒S受体结合区蛋白片段在杆状病毒载体中的表达及其抗原性研究

目的:利用Bac-to-Bac1杆状病毒系统,在sf9昆虫细胞中表达严重急性呼吸综合征(SARS)冠状病毒(SARS-CoV)的S受体结合区蛋白片段,并对其免疫原性进行研究。方法:将S蛋白的受体结合区基因片段定向克隆至转座载体pFast-Bac1,转化大肠杆菌DH10Bac感受态细胞,用抗生素平板筛选重组杆粒。脂质体介导重组杆粒转染sf9昆虫细胞,待细胞形态明显改变后收获细胞和培养上清液。利用SARS病人恢复期抗血清做ELISA和Western印迹,分析重组蛋白的抗原性。结果:ELISA和Western印迹表明,在sf9昆虫细胞中表达的SARS-CoVS受体结合区重组蛋白可与SARS病人恢复期抗血清发生特异反应。结论:获得了在昆虫细胞内表达的SARS-CoVS受体结合区重组蛋白,并证明该蛋白有可能用于SARS感染的抗体检测,为SARS-CoV免疫机制及其疫苗的进一步研究奠定了基础。     

Profiles of IgG antibodies to nucleocapsid and spike proteins of the SARS-associated coronavirus in SARS patients

To evaluate humoral immunity against the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), we studied the profiles of IgG antibodies to the nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) proteins of SARS-CoV. Serum specimens from 10 SARS patients were analyzed by Western blotting and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using purified recombinant N and truncated S (S1, S2, and S3) proteins as antigens. Western blotting results demonstrated that 100% of the SARS patients tested positive for N protein-specific antibodies, 50% for S1 protein-specific antibodies, 30% for S2 protein-specific antibodies, and 70% for S3 protein-specific antibodies. The ELISA results, which showed positive rates of IgG reactivity against recombinant proteins N, S1, S2, and S3, were, respectively, 28.57, 14.29, 14.29, and 14.29% at week 1, 77.78, 55.56, 44.44, and 66.67% at week 2, 100, 75, 75, and 87.5% at week 3, and 100, 77.78, 77.78, and 88.89% after 3 weeks. The average titers of IgG against recombinant proteins N, S1, S2, and S3 were, respectively, 691, 56, 38, and 84 after 3 weeks. These results suggest that the recombinant proteins N and S3 are potentially useful antigens for a serological diagnosis of SARS. In consideration of possible cross-reactivity among N proteins of SARS-CoV and other coronaviruses, immunoassays using recombinant N protein in combination with S3 as antigens might improve the specificity of SARS diagnoses.     

Molecular and biological characterization of human monoclonal antibodies binding to the spike and nucleocapsid proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus

Human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were selected from semisynthetic antibody phage display libraries by using whole irradiated severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV) virions as target. We identified eight human MAbs binding to virus and infected cells, six of which could be mapped to two SARS-CoV structural proteins: the nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) proteins. Two MAbs reacted with N protein. One of the N protein MAbs recognized a linear epitope conserved between all published human and animal SARS-CoV isolates, and the other bound to a nonlinear N epitope. These two N MAbs did not compete for binding to SARS-CoV. Four MAbs reacted with the S glycoprotein, and three of these MAbs neutralized SARS-CoV in vitro. All three neutralizing anti-S MAbs bound a recombinant S1 fragment comprising residues 318 to 510, a region previously identified as the SARS-CoV S receptor binding domain; the nonneutralizing MAb did not. Two strongly neutralizing anti-S1 MAbs blocked the binding of a recombinant S fragment (residues 1 to 565) to SARS-CoV-susceptible Vero cells completely, whereas a poorly neutralizing S1 MAb blocked binding only partially. The MAb ability to block S1-receptor binding and the level of neutralization of the two strongly neutralizing S1 MAbs correlated with the binding affinity to the S1 domain. Finally, epitope mapping, using recombinant S fragments (residues 318 to 510) containing naturally occurring mutations, revealed the importance of residue N479 for the binding of the most potent neutralizing MAb, CR3014. The complete set of SARS-CoV MAbs described here may be useful for diagnosis, chemoprophylaxis, and therapy of SARS-CoV infection and disease.