The role of SARS-CoV-2 N protein in diagnosis and vaccination in the context of emerging variants: present status and prospects

Wanchen Song; Zhongbiao Fang; Feike Ma; Jiaxuan Li; Zhiwei Huang; Yanjun Zhang; Jianhua Li; Keda Chen

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1217567

The role of SARS-CoV-2 N protein in diagnosis and vaccination in the context of emerging variants: present status and prospects

Front Microbiol. 2023 Aug 14:14:1217567. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1217567. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Wanchen Song^#¹, Zhongbiao Fang^#², Feike Ma^#², Jiaxuan Li², Zhiwei Huang³, Yanjun Zhang⁴, Jianhua Li⁴, Keda Chen²

Affiliations

¹ School of Medical Technology and Information Engineering, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
² Shulan International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, China.
³ School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Public Health Detection and Etiological Research of Zhejiang Province, Department of Microbiology, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Despite many countries rapidly revising their strategies to prevent contagions, the number of people infected with Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to surge. The emergent variants that can evade the immune response significantly affect the effectiveness of mainstream vaccines and diagnostic products based on the original spike protein. Therefore, it is essential to focus on the highly conserved nature of the nucleocapsid protein as a potential target in the field of vaccines and diagnostics. In this regard, our review initially discusses the structure, function, and mechanism of action of N protein. Based on this discussion, we summarize the relevant research on the in-depth development and application of diagnostic methods and vaccines based on N protein, such as serology and nucleic acid detection. Such valuable information can aid in designing more efficient diagnostic and vaccine tools that could help end the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; diagnostic methods; immune escape; nucleocapsid protein; vaccine development; variants of concern.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province (program number 2021C03044), Major Health Science and Technology Projects of Zhejiang Province (projects number WKJ-ZJ-2105), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (program number 82151220).