ABSTRACT
Monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are a clinically validated therapeutic option against COVID-19. Because rapidly emerging virus mutants are becoming the next major concern in the fight against the global pandemic, it is imperative that these therapeutic treatments provide coverage against circulating variants and do not contribute to development of treatment-induced emergent resistance. To this end, we investigated the sequence diversity of the spike protein and monitored emergence of virus variants in SARS-COV-2 isolates found in COVID-19 patients treated with the two-antibody combination REGEN-COV, as well as in preclinical in vitro studies using single, dual, or triple antibody combinations, and in hamster in vivo studies using REGEN-COV or single monoclonal antibody treatments. Our study demonstrates that the combination of non-competing antibodies in REGEN-COV provides protection against all current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern/interest and also protects against emergence of new variants and their potential seeding into the population in a clinical setting.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology , COVID-19/immunology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Mutation/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , Animals , COVID-19/virology , Chlorocebus aethiops , Cricetinae , Cryoelectron Microscopy , Hospitalization , Humans , Lung/pathology , Lung/virology , Male , Neutralization Tests , Vero Cells , Viral LoadABSTRACT
Antibodies targeting the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) present a promising approach to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; however, concerns remain that mutations can yield antibody resistance. We investigated the development of resistance against four antibodies to the spike protein that potently neutralize SARS-CoV-2, individually as well as when combined into cocktails. These antibodies remain effective against spike variants that have arisen in the human population. However, novel spike mutants rapidly appeared after in vitro passaging in the presence of individual antibodies, resulting in loss of neutralization; such escape also occurred with combinations of antibodies binding diverse but overlapping regions of the spike protein. Escape mutants were not generated after treatment with a noncompeting antibody cocktail.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Neutralizing/immunology , Antibodies, Viral/immunology , Betacoronavirus/immunology , Coronavirus Infections/immunology , Pneumonia, Viral/immunology , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology , Betacoronavirus/chemistry , Betacoronavirus/genetics , COVID-19 , Epitopes , Genome, Viral , Humans , Mutant Proteins/chemistry , Mutant Proteins/immunology , Mutation , Neutralization Tests , Pandemics , Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs , SARS-CoV-2 , Selection, Genetic , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/chemistry , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/geneticsABSTRACT
Neutralizing antibodies have become an important tool in treating infectious diseases. Recently, two separate approaches yielded successful antibody treatments for Ebola-one from genetically humanized mice and the other from a human survivor. Here, we describe parallel efforts using both humanized mice and convalescent patients to generate antibodies against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein, which yielded a large collection of fully human antibodies that were characterized for binding, neutralization, and three-dimensional structure. On the basis of these criteria, we selected pairs of highly potent individual antibodies that simultaneously bind the receptor binding domain of the spike protein, thereby providing ideal partners for a therapeutic antibody cocktail that aims to decrease the potential for virus escape mutants that might arise in response to selective pressure from a single-antibody treatment.