Project

We propose to identify peptides derived from the S protein that can modulate the HLA-E restricted activity of NK cells. Through in-silico analyses, we have already identified in the S protein of SARS-Cov1, SARS-Cov2 and MERS-Cov regions coding for peptides with HLA-E binding motifs. We will perform functional and structural analyses of the binding of these peptides to MHC-E. We will study MHC-E restricted responses of NK cells in blood and tissues during SARS-Cov2 infection in non human primates. From longitudinally collected samples from blood and tissues before and after the SARS-CoV2 infection of the animals, we will analyse the phenotype and transcriptome profile of NK cells and compare to viral loads and disease progression of the animals.