SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617 Mutations L452R and E484Q Are Not Synergistic for Antibody Evasion

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 224; no. 6; pp. 989 - 994
• Main Authors: Ferreira, Isabella A T M, Kemp, Steven A, Datir, Rawlings, Saito, Akatsuki, Meng, Bo, Rakshit, Partha, Takaori-Kondo, Akifumi, Kosugi, Yusuke, Uriu, Keiya, Kimura, Izumi, Shirakawa, Kotaro, Abdullahi, Adam, Agarwal, Anurag, Ozono, Seiya, Tokunaga, Kenzo, Sato, Kei, Gupta, Ravindra K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 17.09.2021
• Subjects: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2; Animals; Antibodies; Antibodies, Neutralizing - immunology; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antibodies, Viral - immunology; BNT162 Vaccine; Chlorocebus aethiops; COVID-19 - immunology; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 Vaccines - immunology; HEK293 Cells; Humans; Immune Evasion; India; Major and Brief Reports; mRNA; Mutation; Protein Binding; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; Serine Endopeptidases; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - chemistry; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - genetics; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - immunology; Vaccines; Vero Cells; India; antibody escape; COVID-19; B.1.617; SARS-CoV-2; fitness; Indian variant; neutralizing antibodies; evasion; spike mutation; infectivity; resistance
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiab368

Abstract The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617 variant emerged in the Indian state of Maharashtra in late 2020. There have been fears that 2 key mutations seen in the receptor-binding domain, L452R and E484Q, would have additive effects on evasion of neutralizing antibodies. We report that spike bearing L452R and E484Q confers modestly reduced sensitivity to BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine-elicited antibodies following either first or second dose. The effect is similar in magnitude to the loss of sensitivity conferred by L452R or E484Q alone. These data demonstrate reduced sensitivity to vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies by L452R and E484Q but lack of synergistic loss of sensitivity.