4.4 Membrane protein (M)
M protein is the most abundant and highly conserved trans-membrane
glycoprotein on the surface of SARS-CoV involved in virus assembly
(Neuman et al., 2011). SARS-CoV M protein-derived peptides (M-131 and
M-132-161), identified in sera of convalescent-phase SARS patients, have
good immunogenicity to induce high titer of specific IgG antibody
response in immunized rabbits (He et al., 2005a). The full length M
protein has been reported to elicit VN antibodies efficiently in SARS
patients upon immunization (Pang et al., 2004). The T cell epitope
cluster containing domain of M protein has been reported to elicit a
strong cellular immune response (Liu et al., 2010). Though, this protein
has not been investigated much for its protective efficacy against
SARS-CoV infection, the above factors suggest its potential as a
possible vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2.