Antibody and T Cell Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Peptides in COVID-19 Convalescent Patients
Ekaterina Garanina, Shaimaa Hamza, Robert J. Stott-Marshall, Ekaterina Martynova, Maria Markelova, Yuriy Davidyuk, Venera Shakirova, Neha Kaushal, Manoj Baranwal, И. М. Хаертынова, Albert A. Rizvanov, Toshana L. Foster, Svetlana F. Khaiboullina
Abstract
Identifying immunogenic targets of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical to advance diagnostic and disease control strategies. We analyzed humoral (ELISA) and T-cell (ELISpot) immune responses to spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) SARS-CoV-2 proteins as well as to human endemic coronavirus (eCoV) peptides in serum from convalescent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients from Tatarstan, Russia. We identified multiple SARS-CoV-2 peptides that were reactive with serum antibodies and T cells from convalescent COVID-19. In addition, age and gender associated differences in the reactivity to S and N protein peptides were identified. Moreover, several SARS-CoV-2 peptides tested negatively correlated with disease severity and lung damage. Cross-reactivity to eCoV peptides was analyzed and found to be lower in COVID-19 compared to controls. In this study, we demonstrate the changing pattern of immunogenic peptide reactivity in COVID-19 serum based on age, gender and previous exposure to eCoVs. These data highlight how humoral immune responses and cytotoxic T cell responses to some of these peptides could contribute to SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis.