ABSTRACT
Continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) is fueling the COVID-19 pandemic. Omicron (B.1.1.529) rapidly spread worldwide. The large number of mutations in its Spike raise concerns about a major antigenic drift that could significantly decrease vaccine efficacy and infection-induced immunity. A long interval between BNT162b2 mRNA doses elicits antibodies that efficiently recognize Spikes from different VOCs. Here, we evaluate the recognition of Omicron Spike by plasma from a cohort of SARS-CoV-2 naive and previously infected individuals who received their BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine 16 weeks apart. Omicron Spike is recognized less efficiently than D614G, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta Spikes. We compare with plasma activity from participants receiving a short (4 weeks) interval regimen. Plasma from individuals of the long-interval cohort recognize and neutralize better the Omicron Spike compared with those who received a short interval. Whether this difference confers any clinical benefit against Omicron remains unknown.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Neutralizing/blood , BNT162 Vaccine/administration & dosage , Immunization Schedule , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology , Adult , Aged , Antibodies, Neutralizing/analysis , Antibodies, Neutralizing/immunology , Antibodies, Viral/analysis , Antibodies, Viral/blood , Antibodies, Viral/immunology , BNT162 Vaccine/immunology , Cohort Studies , Female , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Immunization, Secondary/methods , Male , Middle Aged , Quebec , SARS-CoV-2/pathogenicity , Time Factors , Vaccination/methods , Vaccine Potency , Vaccines, Synthetic/administration & dosage , Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology , Young Adult , mRNA Vaccines/administration & dosage , mRNA Vaccines/immunologyABSTRACT
The rapid emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants is fueling the recent waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we assessed ACE2 binding and antigenicity of Mu (B.1.621) and A.2.5 Spikes. Both these variants carry some mutations shared by other emerging variants. Some of the pivotal mutations such as N501Y and E484K in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) detected in B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta) and P.1 (Gamma) are now present within the Mu variant. Similarly, the L452R mutation of B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant is present in A.2.5. In this study, we observed that these Spike variants bound better to the ACE2 receptor in a temperature-dependent manner. Pseudoviral particles bearing the Spike of Mu were similarly neutralized by plasma from vaccinated individuals than those carrying the Beta (B.1.351) and Delta (B.1.617.2) Spikes. Altogether, our results indicate the importance of measuring critical parameters such as ACE2 interaction, plasma recognition and neutralization ability of each emerging variant.