Title : Site-specific glycan analysis of the
SARS-CoV-2 spike
Abstract :
- The emergence of the betacoronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, represents a significant threat to global human health
- Vaccine development is focused on the principal target of the humoral immune response, the spike (S) glycoprotein, which mediates cell entry and membrane fusion
- SARS-CoV-2 S gene encodes 22 N-linked glycan sequons per protomer, which likely play a role in protein folding and immune evasion
- Here, using a site-specific mass spectrometric approach, we reveal the glycan structures on a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 S immunogen
- This analysis enables mapping of the glycan-processing states across the trimeric viral spike
- We show how SARS-CoV-2 S glycans differ from typical host glycan processing, which may have implications in viral pathobiology and vaccine design