SARS-CoV-2 integral membrane proteins shape the serological responses of COVID-19 patients

Sophie Martin (1, 2) , Christopher Heslan (3) , Guillaume Jégou (1, 2) , Leif A Eriksson (4) , Matthieu Le Gallo (1, 2) , V. Thibault (3) , Eric Chevet (1, 2) , Florence Godey (1, 2) , Tony Avril (1, 2)

1 COSS - Chemistry, Oncogenesis, Stress and Signaling
2 CRLCC - CRLCC Eugène Marquis
3 Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes [CHU Rennes] = Rennes University Hospital [Ponchaillou]
4 GU - Göteborgs Universitet = University of Gothenburg

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has elicited a unique mobilization of the scientific community to develop efficient tools to understand and combat the infection. Like other , SARS-CoV-2 hijacks host cell secretory machinery to produce viral proteins that compose the nascent virions; including spike (S), envelope (E), and membrane (M) proteins, the most exposed transmembrane proteins to the host immune system. As antibody response is part of the anti-viral immune arsenal, we investigate the immunogenic potential of S, E, and M using a human cell-based system to mimic membrane insertion and N-glycosylation. Both S and M elicit specific Ig production in patients with SARS-CoV-2. Patients with moderate and severe diseases exhibit elevated Ig responses. Finally, reduced Ig binding was observed with spike G614 compared to D614 variant. Altogether, our assay points toward an unexpected immune response against M and represents a powerful tool to test humoral responses against actively evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccine effectiveness.

Mots clés: M; SARS-CoV-2; Spike; envelope proteins; serology

Domaines: Cancer

Sophie Martin, Christopher Heslan, Guillaume Jégou, Leif A Eriksson, Matthieu Le Gallo, et al.. SARS-CoV-2 integral membrane proteins shape the serological responses of COVID-19 patients. iScience, 2021, 24 (10), pp.103185. ⟨10.1016/j.isci.2021.103185⟩. ⟨hal-03370005⟩