Title Structure-Based Design with Tag-Based Purification and In-Process Biotinylation Enable Streamlined Development of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Molecular Probes.
Author Zhou, Tongqing; Teng, I-Ting; Olia, Adam S; Cerutti, Gabriele; Gorman, Jason; Nazzari, Alexandra; Shi, Wei; Tsybovsky, Yaroslav; Wang, Lingshu; Wang, Shuishu; Zhang, Baoshan; Zhang, Yi; Katsamba, Phinikoula S; Petrova, Yuliya; Banach, Bailey B; Fahad, Ahmed S; Liu, Lihong; Lopez Acevedo, Sheila N; Madan, Bharat; Oliveira de Souza, Matheus; Pan, Xiaoli; Wang, Pengfei; Wolfe, Jacy R; Yin, Michael; Ho, David D; Phung, Emily; DiPiazza, Anthony; Chang, Lauren A; Abiona, Olubukola M; Corbett, Kizzmekia S; DeKosky, Brandon J; Graham, Barney S; Mascola, John R; Misasi, John; Ruckwardt, Tracy; Sullivan, Nancy J; Shapiro, Lawrence; Kwong, Peter D
Journal Cell Rep Publication Year/Month 2020-Oct
PMID 33091382 PMCID PMC7550166
Affiliation + expend 1.Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

Biotin-labeled molecular probes, comprising specific regions of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike, would be helpful in the isolation and characterization of antibodies targeting this recently emerged pathogen. Here, we design constructs incorporating an N-terminal purification tag, a site-specific protease-cleavage site, the probe region of interest, and a C-terminal sequence targeted by biotin ligase. Probe regions include full-length spike ectodomain as well as various subregions, and we also design mutants that eliminate recognition of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. Yields of biotin-labeled probes from transient transfection range from approximately 0.5 mg/L for the complete ectodomain to >5 mg/L for several subregions. Probes are characterized for antigenicity and ACE2 recognition, and the structure of the spike ectodomain probe is determined by cryoelectron microscopy. We also characterize antibody-binding specificities and cell-sorting capabilities of the biotinylated probes. Altogether, structure-based design coupled to efficient purification and biotinylation processes can thus enable streamlined development of SARS-CoV-2 spike ectodomain probes.

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