Mizuno Yuya, Nakasone Wataru, Nakamura Morikazu, Otaki Joji M
The BCPH Unit of Molecular Physiology, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Senbaru, Nishihara 903-0213, Okinawa, Japan.
Computer Science and Intelligent Systems Unit, Department of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of the Ryukyus, Senbaru, Nishihara 903-0213, Okinawa, Japan.
Vaccines (Basel). 2024 May 14;12(5):539. doi: 10.3390/vaccines12050539.
Spike protein sequences in SARS-CoV-2 have been employed for vaccine epitopes, but many short constituent sequences (SCSs) in the spike protein are present in the human proteome, suggesting that some anti-spike antibodies induced by infection or vaccination may be autoantibodies against human proteins. To evaluate this possibility of "molecular mimicry" in silico and in vitro, we exhaustively identified common SCSs (cSCSs) found both in spike and human proteins bioinformatically. The commonality of SCSs between the two systems seemed to be coincidental, and only some cSCSs were likely to be relevant to potential self-epitopes based on three-dimensional information. Among three antibodies raised against cSCS-containing spike peptides, only the antibody against EPLDVL showed high affinity for the spike protein and reacted with an EPLDVL-containing peptide from the human unc-80 homolog protein. Western blot analysis revealed that this antibody also reacted with several human proteins expressed mainly in the small intestine, ovary, and stomach. Taken together, these results showed that most cSCSs are likely incapable of inducing autoantibodies but that at least EPLDVL functions as a self-epitope, suggesting a serious possibility of infection-induced or vaccine-induced autoantibodies in humans. High-risk cSCSs, including EPLDVL, should be excluded from vaccine epitopes to prevent potential autoimmune disorders.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2(SARS-CoV-2)的刺突蛋白序列已被用于疫苗表位,但刺突蛋白中的许多短组成序列(SCSs)也存在于人类蛋白质组中,这表明感染或疫苗接种诱导产生的一些抗刺突抗体可能是针对人类蛋白质的自身抗体。为了在计算机模拟和体外实验中评估这种“分子模拟”的可能性,我们通过生物信息学方法详尽地鉴定了在刺突蛋白和人类蛋白质中都存在的常见SCSs(cSCSs)。两个系统中SCSs的共性似乎是巧合,基于三维信息,只有一些cSCSs可能与潜在的自身表位相关。在针对含cSCSs的刺突肽产生的三种抗体中,只有针对EPLDVL的抗体对刺突蛋白具有高亲和力,并与来自人类unc-80同源蛋白的含EPLDVL肽发生反应。蛋白质免疫印迹分析表明,该抗体还与几种主要在小肠、卵巢和胃中表达的人类蛋白质发生反应。综上所述,这些结果表明,大多数cSCSs可能无法诱导自身抗体,但至少EPLDVL可作为自身表位,这表明人类感染诱导或疫苗诱导的自身抗体存在严重可能性。应从疫苗表位中排除包括EPLDVL在内的高风险cSCSs,以预防潜在的自身免疫性疾病。
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