Alarming antibody evasion properties of rising SARS-CoV-2 BQ and XBB subvariants

• Published in: Cell Vol. 186; no. 2; pp. 279 - 286.e8
• Main Authors: Wang, Qian, Iketani, Sho, Li, Zhiteng, Liu, Liyuan, Guo, Yicheng, Huang, Yiming, Bowen, Anthony D., Liu, Michael, Wang, Maple, Yu, Jian, Valdez, Riccardo, Lauring, Adam S., Sheng, Zizhang, Wang, Harris H., Gordon, Aubree, Liu, Lihong, Ho, David D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 19.01.2023; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc
• Subjects: antibodies; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Antibodies, Neutralizing; Antibodies, Viral; antibody evasion; BQ.1; BQ.1.1; COVID-19; COVID-19 - immunology; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 infection; COVID-19 Vaccines; Humans; Immune Evasion; mRNA vaccine; neutralization; neutralizing monoclonal antibody; receptor binding affinity; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - classification; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; vaccines; XBB; XBB.1; COVID-19; receptor binding affinity; SARS-CoV-2; neutralizing monoclonal antibody; XBB; antibody evasion; XBB.1; BQ.1; BQ.1.1; mRNA vaccine

The BQ and XBB subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron are now rapidly expanding, possibly due to altered antibody evasion properties deriving from their additional spike mutations. Here, we report that neutralization of BQ.1, BQ.1.1, XBB, and XBB.1 by sera from vaccinees and infected persons was markedly...