To face the continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, broadly protective therapeutic antibodies are highly needed. We here focused on the fusion peptide (FP) region of the viral spike antigen since it is highly conserved among alpha- and betacoronaviruses. First, we found that coronavirus cross-reactive antibodies are commonly formed during infection, being omnipresent in sera from COVID-19 patients, in ~50% of pre-pandemic human sera (rich in antibodies against endemic human coronaviruses), and even in feline coronavirus-infected cats. Pepscan analyses demonstrated that a confined N-terminal region of the FP is strongly immunogenic across diverse coronaviruses. Peptide-purified human antibodies targeting this conserved FP epitope exhibited broad binding of alpha- and betacoronaviruses, besides weak and transient SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity. Being frequently elicited by coronavirus infection, these FP-binding antibodies might potentially exhibit Fc-mediated effector functions and influence the kinetics or severity of coronavirus infection and disease.
【저자키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Coronaviruses, spike, fusion peptide, S2 subunit, broadly neutralizing antibodies, pepscan, 【초록키워드】 Coronavirus infection, coronavirus, antibody, severity, Infection, peptide, Antigen, Neutralizing activity, Kinetics, Viral, SARS-CoV-2 variants, sera, therapeutic, Alpha, fusion peptide, epitope, disease, COVID-19 patients, Protective, binding, betacoronaviruses, Analysis, Fc-mediated effector function, cross-reactive antibody, alpha-, Fc-mediated effector functions, immunogenic, viral spike, human sera, being, N-terminal, endemic human coronaviruses, conserved, exhibited, demonstrated, elicited, 【제목키워드】 Human, fusion, Against, the SARS-CoV-2,