T CELL EPITOPES USEFUL IN A SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS) VIRUS VACCINE AND AS DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING SAME

摘要

In a first aspect the present invention consists of T cell epitopes in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus genome. More specifically there is provided 180 class I linear peptide epitopes and 200 class II linear epitopes from the SARS Virus genome. In a second aspect the invention also consists of variants of these sequences. In a third aspect this invention consists of a method to predict these sequences from genome data and to validate the predications experimentally. In a fourth aspect the present invention provides compositions including these epitopes for use in a vaccine and to induce a T cell response in a subject, or as a diagnostic tool.