Identification of immunodominant epitopes on the membrane protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus

Similar to other coronaviruses, the membrane (M) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a major transmembrane glycoprotein with multiple biological functions. To date, limited information is available about its antigenic properties. In this study, we identified two major immunodominant epitopes on the M protein located in the extreme N-terminal region (residues 1 to 31) and the interior C-terminal region (residues 132 to 161), respectively, by Pepscan analyses against convalescent-phase sera from SARS patients and antisera from virus-immunized mice and rabbits. Synthetic peptides M1-31 derived from the N-terminal epitope and M132-161 derived from the C-terminal epitope were highly reactive with all of the convalescent-phase sera from 40 SARS patients but not with 30 control serum samples from healthy blood donors, suggesting their potential application for serologic diagnosis of SARS. We showed that both peptides (M1-31 and M132-161) were able to induce high titers of antibody responses in the immunized rabbits, highlighting their antigenicity and immunogenicity. These findings provide important information for developing SARS diagnostics and vaccines.