SARS-CoV-2 Spike Peptide Antigen Design for Antibody Induction
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is an urgent need for effective vaccines and antiviral agents to treat and prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as no such solutions have been developed yet, and the emergence of variants poses additional challenges.
Innovation Solution
A synthetic peptide containing an amino acid sequence derived from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, specifically a part of the HR2 subunit, is used to induce the production of antibodies in mammals. This peptide is combined with a carrier protein and a cross-linking agent to enhance immunogenicity and antibody production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is used as antigen, then high immunogenicity is achieved, but complexity of antigen structure and difficulty in synthesis increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the critical immunogenic epitope region (HR2 domain, amino acids 1163-1213) from the full-length spike protein to create a shortened peptide antigen (19-25 amino acids). This extraction maintains the essential immunogenic function while eliminating the complexity of the complete protein structure, enabling easier synthesis and handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The spike protein is segmented into functional domains, and specifically the HR2 region is isolated as a discrete peptide segment. This segmentation allows the antigen to be produced as a simple peptide rather than a complex full-length protein, resolving the contradiction between maintaining immunogenicity and reducing structural complexity.
2Reliability
If a long peptide sequence is used, then antigen recognition is improved, but ease of synthesis and handling deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential 19-25 amino acid HR2 epitope sequence from the longer spike protein, creating a minimal peptide that retains antigen recognition capability while dramatically improving ease of synthesis and handling compared to full-length protein production.
3Ease of manufacture
If a short peptide is used, then ease of synthesis is improved, but immunogenicity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the peptide length parameter to a specific range (19-25 amino acids) that balances synthesis ease with immunogenicity. Additionally, carrier proteins are conjugated to the short peptide to enhance its immunogenicity, allowing the use of short peptides while maintaining high antibody production capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Carrier proteins serve as intermediaries that amplify the immunogenic response to the short HR2 peptide. The carrier protein-conjugated peptide system enables short peptides to elicit strong immune responses, resolving the contradiction between peptide length and immunogenicity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The synthetic peptide effectively induces the production of antibodies with high titers in mammals, recognizing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which can be used as a vaccine or antiviral agent to combat SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.
Implementation Method 1
a synthetic peptide which is recognized as an antigen relative to at least one mammal and contains an amino acid sequence
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a synthetic peptide containing an amino acid sequence that can be used to produce antibodies against proteins derived from a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The synthetic peptide provided herein is recognized as an antigen relative to at least one mammal, contains an amino acid sequence which is LNESLIDLQELGKYEQYIKWP (SEQ ID NO: 1), and has a total number of amino acid residues of 25 or less.