Abstract
Learning from the lengthy fight against HIV-1, influenza, and Ebola virus infection, broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs), directed at conserved regions of surface proteins crucial to virus entry (Env, hemagglutinin, and GP, respectively), are an essential resource for passive as well as active immunization. Rare in their emergence and antigen recognition mode, bnAbs are active toward a large set of different viral strains. Isolation, characterization and production of bnAbs lead to their possible use in passive immunotherapy and form the basis for an educated effort in the development of vaccines for universal coverage. SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies targeting the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) may lead to antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection, possibly hampering the field of vaccine development. This perspective points to the identification of conserved regions in the spike of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV through investigation, dissection and recombinant production of isolated moieties. These spike moieties should be capable of independent folding and allow the detection as well as the elicitation of bnAbs, thus setting the basis for an effective passive immunotherapy and the development of a universal vaccine against human epidemic coronaviruses (HCoVs). SARS, MERS and, most of all, COVID-19 demonstrate that humanity is the target of HCoV, preparedness for future hits is thus no longer an option.
Introduction
A worldwide effort to combat COVID-19, the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, includes the repurposing of different drugs to attempt pharmacological treatment of the infection and a large number of vaccine trials (). Protective antibodies present in the blood of convalescent individuals that won the fight against SARS-CoV-2 also attract a lot of attention (; ). During viral infections, seldom individuals produce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs), rare molecular entities that have the capacity to provide protection against a large number of viral strains. In HIV-1, influenza, and Ebola virus infection, several bnAbs proved to be extremely potent and effective at inhibiting virus entry (; ; ). This perspective aims to illustrate how searching for bnAbs in COVID-19 may turn out to be more relevant than just an option.
In the case of human epidemic coronaviruses (HCoVs) infection, antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) has been observed for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. ADE could explain some peculiarities of COVID-19 immunopathology and may seriously hamper vaccination attempts (; ; ). Caution is thus required when aiming at provoking an antibody immune response toward coronaviruses, as this response could either block the infection or enhance it (). A dramatic example of ADE induced by cross-reactive antibodies occurs in flaviviruses in which one serotype can predisposes to more severe infection by another serotype, and sequential infection of Zika and dengue viruses can generate ADE (). ADE was not predicted in a vaccination campaign against dengue that resulted in generalized vaccine hesitancy ().
Coronavirus spike is a surface protein, key to target cells for entry through specific receptor recognition. Spike protein from both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 determine viral tropism by recognizing angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Differences in amino acid sequence at SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain (RBD), as compared to SARS-CoV, significantly increased its affinity for human ACE2 (; ; ; ). While SARS-CoV-2 RBD has been employed as an obvious and immediate target for vaccine development worldwide, the high variability within the receptor binding motif (RBM) would (in the case of a successful vaccine) most likely allow specific protection for SARS-CoV-2 but not automatically grant broad protection toward other HCoVs possibly emerging in the future. Thus, using the spike RBD for vaccination may lead to unwanted ADE effects and is limited to strain specificity.
Humanity urgently needs to counteract COVID-19 and the successful development of a vaccine would mark a victory over this pandemic. However, safety needs to remain a crucial criterion and the possibility to develop a vaccine protecting against several epidemic HCoVs would set a different standard of preparedness, averting future catastrophes of COVID-19 magnitude.
Learning From Other Pandemic Viruses
Focusing on the progress of bnAbs recognizing the spike entry molecular machinery of different pandemic-prone viruses (such as HIV-1, influenza, and Ebola) may prove instrumental for the search of HCoV spike-specific bnAbs (Figure 1).
FIGURE 1
HIV-1 infection is a dramatic example of a long-lasting pandemic for which a vaccine is still awaited. Once the infection is established, HIV-1 can evade the host immune response by genetic variation and a wealth of different molecular tricks. Antibodies induced by both natural HIV-1 infection and vaccine candidates are generally not of sufficient quality to establish protection. A small number of HIV-1-infected individuals develop bnAbs that protect from HIV-1 strains of diverse genetic background with remarkable potency. These inspire immunization with sophisticated vaccines aimed at presenting Env constant regions with the goal of eliciting bnAbs (
Influenza virus trimeric hemagglutinin (HA) spikes mediate attachment to host cell sialic acid. Currently, seasonal influenza A and B vaccination needs annual re-formulation and re-administration due to virus antigenic drift, however, this approach does not shield against the possible emergence of pandemic strains due to antigenic shift or adaptive mutation. This threat has been largely confirmed by the 1918, 1957, 1968, and 2009 pandemics and points to the need for a universal influenza vaccine. Worldwide efforts gradually unfolded into the identification of constant regions of HA (the stalk and hidden epitopes on the head) as crucial hotspots and the discovery of bnAbs recognizing those regions. These antibodies are the key for universal protection against influenza. Blood samples analysis collected from influenza virus-infected or immunized individuals confirmed that most bnAbs target HA (
In the trimeric GP of Ebola virus each monomer is composed of GP1 and GP2 subunits. GP1 mediates host cell attachment and receptor recognition, whereas GP2 mediates membrane fusion. After virus internalization into target cells, host cathepsins remove the glycan cap and mucin-like domain of GP1 to generate the cleaved GP intermediate (GPCL) and expose the RBD for its interaction with the endosomal Niemann-Pick C1 receptor, inducing GP2 conformational rearrangements and membrane fusion (
Leading Edge for Epidemic HCoVs
Coronaviruses are enveloped viruses with a positive-stranded RNA. Severe syndrome-causing HCoVs infections of humans begun in 2002 with the SARS outbreak: initially seen as an exotic event in the co-evolution of humans and coronaviruses, with MERS-CoV as a second major hit, and the present COVID-19 pandemic, sufficient evidence mounted to predict that there will be more such pandemic-risk strains in the future. Epidemic HCoVs and endemic (mild syndrome-causing) HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1 are betacoronaviruses, while endemic HCoV-229E and HCoV-NL63 are alphacoronaviruses (
Human ACE2 is the receptor for both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, while the receptor recognized by MERS-CoV is human dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) (
COVID-19 will most likely hit humanity in cycles and gradually disappear, as it has happened for other viral pandemics. Following the 1918 flu pandemic, genetic changes and population immunity ultimately led to the extinction of the 1918 H1N1 lineage decades later (
Dissecting the Spike to Seek and Elicit bnAbs
HCoV spike sequence analysis and identification of conserved domains distal and within the RBD is the essential rationale of this perspective (
FIGURE 2

Schematic of HCoV spike dissection (based on SARS-CoV-2, PDB entry 6VYB using PyMOL). Surface representation of a spike monomer (blue) projected from a trimer (blue, red, and green) on a biological membrane, and dissected into autonomously folding subdomains.
Discussion
This perspective highlights the need to look beyond the present urge to defeat COVID-19. Identification, characterization and large scale production of HCoV bnAbs and their conceptual link to a universal vaccine development are essential for an efficacious passive immunization of infected people (bnAbs) and a successful preventative measure to avert other pandemics (universal vaccine). COVID-19 is a reminder that immediate efforts in time of emergency need to be followed by long lasting efforts aimed to prepare for the future (
Statements
Author contributions
LV conceptualized the manuscript. LV and MS drafted and finalized the manuscript. All authors approved the submitted version.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, spike, conserved regions, broadly neutralizing antibodies, universal vaccine, antibody-dependent enhancement
Citation
Vangelista L and Secchi M (2020) Prepare for the Future: Dissecting the Spike to Seek Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies and Universal Vaccine for Pandemic Coronaviruses. Front. Mol. Biosci. 7:226. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.00226
Received
22 May 2020
Accepted
11 August 2020
Published
01 September 2020
Volume
7 - 2020
Edited by
Chi Shing Cho, QEH, Hong Kong
Reviewed by
Rong Hai, University of California, Riverside, United States; Felix Broecker, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, United States
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© 2020 Vangelista and Secchi.
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*Correspondence: Luca Vangelista, luca.vangelista@nu.edu.kz
This article was submitted to Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics, a section of the journal Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
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