SARS-CoV-2 Epitope Peptides for Cellular Immunity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current COVID-19 vaccines primarily focus on inducing neutralizing antibodies, which may become ineffective due to viral mutations, and there is a need for a vaccine that elicits cellular immunity to provide long-term protection and a reliable method to determine individual infection history.
Innovation Solution
Development of epitope peptides derived from SARS-CoV-2 proteins that bind to HLA-A*24:02 or HLA-A*02:01, inducing cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and incorporating these peptides into pharmaceutical compositions, APCs, exosomes, and TCRs to induce specific immune responses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vaccines focus on inducing neutralizing antibodies against the spike protein, then humoral immunity is improved, but the vaccine becomes ineffective due to viral mutations
Solution Approach 1:
The vaccine divides the antigenic target into multiple epitope peptides from different SARS-CoV-2 proteins (spike, nucleoprotein, ORF3a, ORF6, ORF7a, ORF8, ORF10) rather than relying on a single spike protein target. This segmentation allows the immune system to recognize multiple viral components, reducing vulnerability to mutations in any single region.
Solution Approach 2:
The vaccine design targets multiple functional aspects of the virus by including epitopes from structural proteins (spike, envelope, matrix, nucleoprotein) and non-structural proteins (ORF1ab, ORF3a, ORF6, ORF7a, ORF8, ORF10). This multi-functional approach ensures broader immune coverage and adaptability against viral variants.
2Duration of action of moving object
If vaccines induce short-lived neutralizing antibodies, then initial immune response is achieved, but long-term protection is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The vaccine is designed to preliminarily establish both humoral and cellular immunity before viral infection occurs. By pre-activating T cells through epitope presentation via HLA molecules, the immune system is prepared to rapidly respond to viral infection, extending protection beyond the short lifespan of neutralizing antibodies alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The vaccine introduces dendritic cells as intermediaries that process and present epitope peptides to T cells through HLA molecules. This intermediary mechanism bridges the gap between antigen exposure and long-term cellular immunity, enabling sustained immune surveillance and memory cell formation.
3Reliability
If conventional vaccines rely on humoral immunity, then antibody production is enhanced, but cellular immunity against viral proliferation is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The vaccine merges humoral and cellular immunity approaches by combining epitope peptides that can stimulate both antibody production and T cell activation. The formulation includes epitopes from multiple viral proteins that work synergistically to enhance both B cell and T cell responses, creating a comprehensive immune defense.
Solution Approach 2:
The vaccine employs a composite antigen formulation containing multiple epitope peptides from different SARS-CoV-2 proteins (spike, nucleoprotein, and ORF proteins) rather than a single antigen. This composite approach creates a multifaceted immune stimulus that simultaneously activates diverse immune cell types and pathways.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides epitope peptides which are derived from SARS-CoV-2 proteins and have the ability to induce cytotoxic T cells. The present invention also provides polynucleotides encoding the peptides, antigen-presenting cells that present the peptides, and cytotoxic T cells that target the peptides, and methods of inducing the antigen-presenting cells or CTLs. The present invention further provides compositions and pharmaceutical compositions containing them as active ingredients. Moreover, the present invention provides methods of treating and/or preventing coronavirus infectious diseases, and/or suppressing the aggravation of coronavirus infectious diseases by using the peptides, polynucleotides, antigen-presenting cells, cytotoxic T cells, or pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention. The present invention also provides methods of inducing an immune response against coronavirus infection. Furthermore, the present invention provides methods of examining the history of coronavirus infection by detecting TCR sequences of a subject.