Abstract: Sarbecoviruses (lineage B of genus Betacoronavirus) have caused two major outbreaks during the past two decades: SARS-CoV in 2003, and SARS-CoV-2 from 2019. SARS-CoV-2 vaccines will be essential to reduce morbidity and mortality. Therefore, universal vaccines against this class of viruses are key to ending the current pandemic, but also for preventing additional emergent variations and future outbreaks of SARS-like viruses that are continuously found from nature reservoirs. Now, the inventors produced an antibody that is directed against a surface antigen (i.e., CD40) of an antigen presenting cell (i.e., dendritic cell) wherein the heavy chain is conjugated or fused to a protein N polypeptide of SAR-CoV-2 and the light chain is fused to a RBD polypeptide. In particular, the inventors show that said antibody could elicit immune responses against Sarbecoviruses.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides polypeptides derived from SARS-CoV-2 which have therapeutic use. One such polypeptide is a polypeptide, referred to as “Npep2,” is derived from the SARS-CoV-2 protein N and has at least 50 consecutive amino acids of the amino acid sequence having at least 90% identity with the amino acid sequence that ranges from the residue at position 276 to the residue at position 411 of SEQ ID NO:2. Further described are conjugates wherein a heterologous polypeptide is conjugated or fused to Npep2. The present disclosure further provides vaccines employing the polypeptides, polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides, and methods of vaccinating subjects against SARS-CoV-2 by administering a therapeutically effective amount of one or more of the polypeptides.