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

Abstract

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.