Neutralizing Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 Variants After Infection and Vaccination

Abstract

Serum neutralizing antibodies rapidly appear after SARS-CoV-2 infection 1 and vaccination 2 and are maintained for several months. 3,4 The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has raised concerns about the breadth of neutralizing-antibody responses. We compared the neutralizingantibody response to 4 variants in infected and vaccinated individuals to determine how mutations within the spike protein are associated with virus neutralization. Methods | Serum samples were obtained from 3 groups of individuals. At Emory University, hospitalized adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection (polymerase chain reaction confirmed) were enrolled 5 to 19 days after symptom onset (July 2020). Infected convalescent individuals (polymerase chain reaction or antigen test confirmed) were enrolled 32 to 94 days after symptom onset (March to August 2020). Deidentified serum samples drawn 14 days after the second dose (100-μg cohort) from individuals in the mRNA-1273 phase 1 clinical trial 2 were obtained from the National Institutes of Health. See the eAppendix in the Supplement for participant details. Institutional review board approval was obtained from Emory University and Advarra; all participants provided written informed consent.

Infliximab is associated with attenuated immunogenicity to BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

“…Although neutralisation assays are considered more biologically relevant, it is now established that anti receptor-binding domain antibodies, which target the spike protein component that engages host cells through ligation of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, closely correlate with neutralisation assays. 29,30 Second, we only assessed humoral responses to infection, and it is likely that protective immunity additionally requires induction of memory T cell responses. Finally, we investigated one anti-TNF drug, infliximab, only.…”

Amino acids 484 and 494 of SARS-CoV-2 spike are hotspots of immune evasion affecting antibody but not ACE2 binding

“…The alarm caused by the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with the potential to escape host immunity acquired through infection or vaccination has been confirmed by a series of reports about lineages B.1.351 and P.1. 31, 32, 36, 50, 51 . These raise concerns on whether a reduction in vaccine efficacy could result in re-infections and delay the reduction in mortality caused by circulating SARS-CoV-2.…”

Antibody response to first and second dose of BNT162b2 in a cohort of characterized healthcare workers

“…A major issue in evaluating the immune response after vaccination is to use valuable immunoassays which may provide results well correlated with neutralizing antibody titers because they measure both the ability of antibodies to block virus infection and vaccine efficacy [17]. Evidence has been collected to suggest immunoassays using as a target the S1 subunit of the spike protein, the trimeric spike protein or the receptor binding domain of the same spike protein [18].…”