Pan-Sarbecovirus Neutralizing Antibodies in BNT162b2-Immunized SARS-CoV-1 Survivors

• Published in: New England Journal of Medicine Vol. 385; no. 15; pp. 1401 - 1406
• Main Authors: Tan, Chee-Wah, Chia, Wan-Ni, Young, Barnaby E, Zhu, Feng, Lim, Beng-Lee, Sia, Wan-Rong, Thein, Tun-Linn, Chen, Mark I.-C, Leo, Yee-Sin, Lye, David C, Wang, Lin-Fa
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Waltham Massachusetts Medical Society 07.10.2021
• Series: Brief Report
• Subjects: Antibodies; Coronavirus; Coronaviruses; COVID-19 vaccines; Immunization; Infections; Infectious Disease; Medical research; Monoclonal antibodies; mRNA; mRNA vaccines; Original; Patients; Phylogenetics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Software; Vaccines; Viral Infections; Viruses; Singapore
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2108453

Emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern pose a challenge to the effectiveness of current vaccines. A vaccine that could prevent infection caused by known and future variants of concern as well as infection with pre-emergent sarbecoviruses (i.e., those with potential to cause disease in humans in the future) would be ideal. Here we provide data showing that potent cross-clade pan-sarbecovirus neutralizing antibodies are induced in survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) infection who have been immunized with the BNT162b2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine. The antibodies are high-level and broad-spectrum, capable of neutralizing not only known variants of concern but also sarbecoviruses that have been identified in bats and pangolins and that have the potential to cause human infection. These findings show the feasibility of a pan-sarbecovirus vaccine strategy. (Funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation and National Medical Research Council.) People who recovered from SARS-CoV-1 infection in 2002–2003 have neutralizing antibodies documented for up to 17 years. Vaccinating such people with the BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine elicited high titers of antibodies capable of neutralizing not only all SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern but also coronavirus types found in bats and pangolins. Immunity against all beta-coronaviruses may be achievable.