HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zhong, X. Articles by Guo, Z. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zhong, X. Articles by Guo, Z. Agricola Articles by Zhong, X. Articles by Guo, Z.

Amino terminus of the SARS coronavirus protein 3a elicits strong, potentially protective humoral responses in infected patients

¹ Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
² Biotechnology Research Institute, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
³ Department of Biology, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
⁴ Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China

Correspondence
Zhihong Guo
chguo{at}ust.hk

The 3a protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus is expressed and transported to the plasma membrane in tissue cells of infected patients. Its short N-terminal ectodomain was found to elicit strong humoral responses in half of the patients who had recovered from SARS. The ectodomain-specific antibodies from the convalescent-phase plasma readily recognized and induced destruction of 3a-expressing cells in the presence of the human complement system, demonstrating their potential ability to provide immune protection by recognizing and eliminating SARS coronavirus-infected cells that express the target protein. In addition, when coupled to a carrier protein, the ectodomain peptide elicited 3a-specific antibodies in mice and rabbit at high titres. These results showed that the N terminus of the 3a protein is highly immunogenic and elicits potentially protective humoral responses in infected patients. Therefore, the short extracellular domain may be a valuable immunogen in the development of a vaccine for infectious SARS.