SARS-CoV‑2 Proteome Microarray for Mapping COVID-19 Antibody Interactions at Amino Acid Resolution

Comprehensive profiling of humoral
antibody response to severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus-2 (CoV-2) proteins is
essential in understanding the host immunity and in developing diagnostic
tests and vaccines. To address this concern, we developed a SARS-CoV-2
proteome peptide microarray to analyze antibody interactions at the
amino acid resolution. With the array, we demonstrate the feasibility
of employing SARS-CoV-1 antibodies to detect the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid
phosphoprotein. The first landscape of B-cell epitopes for SARS-CoV-2
IgM and IgG antibodies in the serum of 10 coronavirus disease of 2019
(COVID-19) patients with early infection is also constructed. With
array data and structural analysis, a peptide epitope for neutralizing
antibodies within the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain’s
interaction interface with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor
was predicted. All the results demonstrate the utility of our microarray
as a platform to determine the changes of antibody responses in COVID-19
patients and animal models as well as to identify potential targets
for diagnosis and treatment.