Molecular features of IGHV3-53-encoded antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

An elegant paper by Yuan et al., recently published in Science, provides novel insights into the molecular features of neutralizing antibody responses to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).1 According to the principles of the “reverse vaccinology 2.0” postulated by Burton et al.,2 the authors explore the interactions between potent neutralizing antibodies from naturally infected donors and their target epitopes, providing key information about structural motifs and binding mode that may facilitate the design of vaccine antigens capable to elicit the immune response against SARS-CoV-2. The vast majority of anti-CoV neutralizing antibodies have been found to specifically target the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the viral spike (S) protein, thus hindering SARSCoV-2 binding to the host angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and viral entry