The Development of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Specific Monoclonal Antibodies

A recent Science Direct publication highlights the development of generating SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid specific monoclonal antibodies to help supply new tools to specifically target SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent resulting in COVID-19. The study refers to nucleocapsid proteins, mBG86 and mBG17 antibody expression plasmids, available to purchase on our catalog, here. The plasmids are originally provided from the Geiss Lab of Colorado State University.

There are limited amounts of antibody reagents available targeting the nucleocapsid protein, to add to this shortage, most are not specific to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein is critical for viral replication, particle assembly, and serves as a diagnostic measure for infection and immune protection. 

This study reviews the characterization of a series of new mouse monoclonal antibodies only targeting against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, with a specific clone, mBG86. The mBG86 antibody can be used for conducting rapid, accurate, and inexpensive diagnostic assays for bed-side diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. Studies can employ these antibodies for studies determining N protein structure, intracellular interactions, diagnostic development, and potential therapy use.

Nucleocapsid Development Process and Testing

N proteins from all major human coronaviruses, used the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 antigen to immunize mice and generate a panel of hybridomas. The monoclonal antibodies were validated in ELISA, Western blot, and Immunofluorescence analyses. Cross-reactivity of the antibodies against N protein from the six other human coronaviruses was tested for determining the altitude for these antibodies to apply to specific diagnostic tests versus controlled research. The VH and VL sequences of the top 6 antibody clones performed epitope mapping to identify antigenic regions within the N protein. The data concludes there is strong evidence for the specificity and utility of the SARS-CoV-2 specific monoclonal antibody for studying the SARS-CoV-2 N protein.

Related Reagents

Looking for more SARS-CoV-2 related reagents? Check out our catalog here, or have a look below: