Identification of Antibody-Mediated Hydrolysis Sites of Oligopeptides Corresponding to the SARS-CoV-2 S-Protein by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Antibodies recognizing RBD and the S-protein have been previously demonstrated to be formed in humans after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination with the Sputnik V adenovirus vaccine. These antibodies were found to be active when hydrolyzing FITC-labeled oligopeptides corresponding to linear epitopes of the S-protein. The thin-layer chromatography method allows the relative accumulation of the reaction product to be estimated but cannot identify hydrolysis sites. This study used the MALDI-TOF MS method to establish oligopeptide hydrolysis sites. Using the MALDI-TOF MS method in combination with the analysis of known hydrolysis sites characteristic of canonical proteases allowed us to establish the unique hydrolysis sites inherent only to catalytically active antibodies. We have discovered two 12-mer oligopeptides to have six hydrolysis sites equally distributed throughout the oligopeptide. The other three oligopeptides were found to have two to three closely spaced hydrolysis sites. In contrast to trypsin and chymotrypsin proteases, the catalytically active antibodies of COVID-19 patients have their peptide bond hydrolyzed mainly after proline, threonine, glycine, or serine residues. Here, we propose a new high-throughput experimental method for analyzing the proteolytic activity of natural antibodies produced in viral pathology.

Natural Antibodies Produced in Vaccinated Patients and COVID-19 Convalescents Hydrolyze Recombinant RBD and Nucleocapsid (N) Proteins

“…Another fundamental issue is the analysis of antibody-mediated hydrolysis sites. Previously, we conducted a MALDI-TOF analysis of the hydrolysis sites of S-protein-related oligopeptides with antibodies isolated from the blood plasma of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 [28]. It has been shown that catalytic antibodies hydrolyze peptide bonds, but the observed type of proteolysis was not similar to that of proteolytic enzymes, such as trypsin and chymotrypsin.…”