Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in most infected individuals 10-15 d after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. However, due to the recent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in the human population, it is not known how long antibody responses will be maintained or whether they will provide protection from reinfection. Using sequential serum samples collected up to 94 d post onset of symptoms (POS) from 65 individuals with real-time quantitative PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, we show seroconversion (immunoglobulin (Ig)M, IgA, IgG) in >95% of cases and neutralizing antibody responses when sampled beyond 8 d POS. We show that the kinetics of the neutralizing antibody response is typical of an acute viral infection, with declining neutralizing antibody titres observed after an initial peak, and that the magnitude of this peak is dependent on disease severity. Although some individuals with high peak infective dose (ID 50 > 10,000) maintained neutralizing antibody titres >1,000 at >60 d POS, some with lower peak ID 50 had neutralizing antibody titres approaching baseline within the follow-up period. A similar decline in neutralizing antibody titres was observed in a cohort of 31 seropositive healthcare workers. The present study has important implications when considering widespread serological testing and antibody protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2, and may suggest that vaccine boosters are required to provide long-lasting protection.

Antibody (Ab) responses to SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in most infected individuals 10-15 days following the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. However, due to the recent emergence of this virus in the human population it is not yet known how long these Ab responses will be maintained or whether they will provide protection from re-infection. Using sequential serum samples collected up to 94 days post onset of symptoms (POS) from 65 RT-qPCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals, we show seroconversion in >95% of cases and neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses when sampled beyond 8 days POS. We demonstrate that the magnitude of the nAb response is dependent upon the disease severity, but this does not affect the kinetics of the nAb response. Declining nAb titres were observed during the follow up period. Whilst some individuals with high peak ID50 (>10,000) maintained titres >1,000 at >60 days POS, some with lower peak ID50 had titres approaching baseline within the follow up period. A similar decline in nAb titres was also observed in a cohort of seropositive healthcare workers from Guy′s and St Thomas′ Hospitals. We suggest that this transient nAb response is a feature shared by both a SARS-CoV-2 infection that causes low disease severity and the circulating seasonal coronaviruses that are associated with common colds. This study has important implications when considering widespread serological testing, Ab protection against re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the durability of vaccine protection.

SummaryAntiviral proteins that recognize pathogen-specific or aberrantly located molecular motifs are perfectly positioned to act as pattern-recognition receptors and signal to the immune system. Here we investigated whether the interferon-induced viral restriction factor tetherin (CD317/BST2), which is known to inhibit HIV-1 particle release by physically tethering virions to the cell surface, has such a signaling role. We find that upon restriction of Vpu-defective HIV-1, tetherin acts as a virus sensor to induce NFκB-dependent proinflammatory gene expression. Signaling requires both tetherin’s extracellular domain involved in virion retention and determinants in the cytoplasmic tail, including an endocytic motif, although signaling is independent of virion endocytosis. Furthermore, recruitment of the TNF-receptor-associated factor TRAF6 and activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase TAK1 are critical for signaling. Human tetherin’s ability to mediate efficient signaling may have arisen as a result of a five amino acid deletion that occurred in hominids after their divergence from chimpanzees.

Highlights d Potent nAbs were isolated from an asymptomatic donor with low plasma neutralization d RBD-specific nAbs target epitopes overlapping with known RBD antibody classes d NTD mutations in B.1.1.7 Spike confer neutralization resistance to NTD-specific nAbs d Most RBD-specific nAbs retain potent neutralization of the B.

The cellular entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronaviruses types 1 and 2 (SARS-CoV-1 and -2) requires sequential protease processing of the viral spike glycoprotein. The presence of a polybasic cleavage site in SARS-CoV-2 spike at the S1/S2 boundary has been suggested to be a factor in the increased transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 compared to SARS-CoV-1 by facilitating maturation of the spike precursor by furin-like proteases in the producer cells rather than endosomal cathepsins in the target. We investigate the relevance of the polybasic cleavage site in the route of entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the consequences this has for sensitivity to interferons (IFNs), and more specifically, the IFN-induced transmembrane (IFITM) protein family that inhibit entry of diverse enveloped viruses. We found that SARS-CoV-2 is restricted predominantly by IFITM2, rather than IFITM3, and the degree of this restriction is governed by route of viral entry. Importantly, removal of the cleavage site in the spike protein renders SARS-CoV-2 entry highly pH- and cathepsin-dependent in late endosomes where, like SARS-CoV-1 spike, it is more sensitive to IFITM2 restriction. Furthermore, we found that potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication by type I but not type II IFNs is alleviated by targeted depletion of IFITM2 expression. We propose that the polybasic cleavage site allows SARS-CoV-2 to mediate viral entry in a pH-independent manner, in part to mitigate against IFITM-mediated restriction and promote replication and transmission. This suggests therapeutic strategies that target furin-mediated cleavage of SARS-CoV-2 spike may reduce viral replication through the activity of type I IFNs. IMPORTANCE The furin cleavage site in the spike protein is a distinguishing feature of SARS-CoV-2 and has been proposed to be a determinant for the higher transmissibility between individuals, compared to SARS-CoV-1. One explanation for this is that it permits more efficient activation of fusion at or near the cell surface rather than requiring processing in the endosome of the target cell. Here we show that SARS-CoV-2 is inhibited by antiviral membrane protein IFITM2 and that the sensitivity is exacerbated by deletion of the furin cleavage site, which restricts viral entry to low pH compartments. Furthermore, we find that IFITM2 is a significant effector of the antiviral activity of type I interferons against SARS-CoV-2 replication. We suggest one role of the furin cleavage site is to reduce SARS-CoV-2 sensitivity to innate immune restriction, and thus may represent a potential therapeutic target for COVID-19 treatment development.

SUMMARY Many pathogens evade cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) by downregulating HLA molecules on infected cells, but the loss of HLA can trigger NK cell-mediated lysis. HIV-1 is thought to subvert CTLs while preserving NK cell inhibition by Nef-mediated downregulation of HLA-A and -B but not HLA-C molecules. We find that HLA-C is downregulated by most primary HIV-1 clones, including transmitted founder viruses, in contrast to the laboratory-adapted NL4-3 virus. HLA-C reduction is mediated by viral Vpu and reduces the ability of HLA-C restricted CTLs to suppress viral replication in CD4+ cells in vitro. HLA-A/B are unaffected by Vpu, and primary HIV-1 clones vary in their ability to downregulate HLA-C, possibly in response to whether CTLs or NK cells dominate immune pressure through HLA-C. HIV-2 also suppresses HLA-C expression through distinct mechanisms, underscoring the immune pressure HLA-C exerts on HIV. This viral immune evasion casts new light on the roles of CTLs and NK cells in immune responses against HIV.

There is a clear requirement for an accurate SARS−CoV−2 antibody test, both as a complement to existing diagnostic capabilities and for determining community seroprevalence. We therefore evaluated the performance of a variety of antibody testing technologies and their potential as diagnostic tools. A highly specific in−house ELISA was developed for the detection of anti−spike (S), −receptor binding domain (RBD) and −nucleocapsid (N) antibodies and used for the cross−comparison of ten commercial serological assays − a chemiluminescence−based platform, two ELISAs and seven colloidal gold lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) − on an identical panel of 110 SARS−CoV−2−positive samples and 50 pre−pandemic negatives. There was a wide variation in the performance of the different platforms, with specificity ranging from 82% to 100%, and overall sensitivity from 60.9% to 87.3%. However, the head to head comparison of multiple serodiagnostic assays on identical sample sets revealed that performance is highly dependent on the time of sampling, with sensitivities of over 95% seen in several tests when assessing samples from more than 20 days post onset of symptoms. Furthermore, these analyses identified clear outlying samples that were negative in all tests, but were later shown to be from individuals with mildest disease presentation. Rigorous comparison of antibody testing platforms will inform the deployment of point of care technologies in healthcare settings and their use in the monitoring of SARS−CoV−2 infections.

HIV-1 Vpu prevents incorporation of tetherin (BST2/ CD317) into budding virions and targets it for ESCRT-dependent endosomal degradation via a clathrin-dependent process. This requires a variant acidic dileucine-sorting motif (ExxxLV) in Vpu. Structural studies demonstrate that recombinant Vpu/tetherin fusions can form a ternary complex with the clathrin adaptor AP-1. However, open questions still exist about Vpu’s mechanism of action. Particularly, whether endosomal degradation and the recruitment of the E3 ubiquitin ligase SCFβTRCP1/2 to a conserved phosphorylated binding site, DSGNES, are required for antagonism. Re-evaluation of the phenotype of Vpu phosphorylation mutants and naturally occurring allelic variants reveals that the requirement for the Vpu phosphoserine motif in tetherin antagonism is dissociable from SCFβTRCP1/2 and ESCRT-dependent tetherin degradation. Vpu phospho-mutants phenocopy ExxxLV mutants, and can be rescued by direct clathrin interaction in the absence of SCFβTRCP1/2 recruitment. Moreover, we demonstrate physical interaction between Vpu and AP-1 or AP-2 in cells. This requires Vpu/tetherin transmembrane domain interactions as well as the ExxxLV motif. Importantly, it also requires the Vpu phosphoserine motif and adjacent acidic residues. Taken together these data explain the discordance between the role of SCFβTRCP1/2 and Vpu phosphorylation in tetherin antagonism, and indicate that phosphorylation of Vpu in Vpu/tetherin complexes regulates promiscuous recruitment of adaptors, implicating clathrin-dependent sorting as an essential first step in tetherin antagonism.