Protective humoral responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus: implications for the design of an effective protein-based vaccine

• Published in: Journal of general virology 2004-10, Vol.85 (10), p.3109-3113
• Main Authors: Pang, Hai, Liu, Yinggang, Han, Xueqing, Xu, Yanhui, Jiang, Fuguo, Wu, Donglai, Kong, Xiangang, Bartlam, Mark, Rao, Zihe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Chlorocebus aethiops; Coronavirus; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Male; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Neutralization Tests; Rabbits; SARS coronavirus; SARS Virus - immunology; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - prevention & control; Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies; Vero Cells; Viral Proteins - immunology; Viral Vaccines - immunology; Virology
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.80111-0

1 Laboratory of Structural Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China 2 National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 3 Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agriculture, 427 Maduan Street, Harbin 150001, China Correspondence Zihe Rao raozh{at}xtal.tsinghua.edu.cn Some of the structural proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) carry major epitopes involved in virus neutralization and are essential for the induction of protective humoral responses and the development of an effective vaccine. Rabbit antisera were prepared using full-length N and M proteins and eight expressed fragments covering the S protein. Antisera to S and M proteins were found to have different neutralizing titres towards SARS-CoV infection in vivo , ranging from 1 : 35 to 1 : 128. Antiserum to the N protein did not contain neutralizing antibodies. Epitopes inducing protective humoral responses to virus infection were located mainly in the M protein and a region spanning residues 13–877 of the S protein. The neutralizing ability of antisera directed against the expressed structural proteins was greater than that of convalescent patient antisera, confirming that, as immunogens, the former induce strong, SARS-CoV-specific neutralizing antibody responses. The in vitro neutralization assay has important implications for the design of an effective, protein-based vaccine preventing SARS-CoV infection.