Synthesis and immunological evaluation of synthetic peptide based anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates

For prevention of the coronavirus disease 2019 caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, an effective vaccine is critical. Herein, several potential peptide epitopes from the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 have been synthesized and covalently linked with the cross-reactive material (CRM197). Immunization of mice with the resulting conjugates induced high titers of IgG antibodies against the spike protein. Importantly, the post-immune sera effectively neutralized SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, suggesting the epitopes identified are protective, and these conjugates are promising leads for anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development.

Automated summary

Peptide epitopes from the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 were synthesized and linked with CRM197 to immunize mice, leading to high titers of IgG antibodies that effectively neutralized SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus. This study suggests that the identified epitopes are protective and the conjugates are promising for the development of an anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.