Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 pseudovirus by BNT162b2 vaccine–elicited human sera

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 371; no. 6534; pp. 1152 - 1153
• Main Authors: Muik, Alexander, Wallisch, Ann-Kathrin, Sänger, Bianca, Swanson, Kena A., Mühl, Julia, Chen, Wei, Cai, Hui, Maurus, Daniel, Sarkar, Ritu, Türeci, Özlem, Dormitzer, Philip R., Şahin, Uğur
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 12.03.2021; American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Amino acid sequence; Amino acids; Antibodies; Antibodies, Neutralizing - blood; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antisera; China; Coronaviridae; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - blood; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 vaccines; COVID-19 Vaccines - immunology; Female; Humans; Immunization; Infectivity; Male; Medicine; Microbio; Middle Aged; mRNA; Mutation; Neutralization; Neutralization Tests; Neutralizing; Proteins; Respiratory diseases; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - genetics; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - immunology; Spike protein; United Kingdom; Vaccines; Young Adult; United Kingdom; China; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.abg6105

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B1.1.7 (VOC 202012/01) variant that emerged in late 2020 in the United Kingdom has many changes in the spike protein gene. Three of these are associated with enhanced infectivity and transmissibility, and there are concerns that B.1.1.7 might compromise the effectiveness of the vaccine. Muik et al. compared the neutralization efficacy of sera from 40 subjects immunized with the BioNTech-Pfizer mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 against a pseudovirus bearing the Wuhan reference strain or the lineage B.1.1.7 spike protein (see the Perspective by Altmann et al. ). Serum was derived from 40 subjects in two age groups 21 days after the booster shot. The vaccine remained effective against B.1.1.7 with a slight but significant decrease in neutralization that was more apparent in participants under 55 years of age. Thus, the vaccine provides a significant “cushion” of protection against this variant. Science , this issue p. 1152 ; see also p. 1103 Despite the many genetic changes in the B.1.1.7 (VOC 202012/01) 2020 UK variant of SARS-CoV-2, the BioNTech-Pfizer mRNA vaccine remains protective. Recently, a new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage called B.1.1.7 (variant of concern: VOC 202012/01), which is reported to spread more efficiently and faster than other strains, emerged in the United Kingdom. This variant has an unusually large number of mutations, with 10 amino acid changes in the spike (S) protein, raising concerns that its recognition by neutralizing antibodies may be affected. In this study, we tested SARS-CoV-2-S pseudoviruses bearing either the Wuhan reference strain or the B.1.1.7 lineage spike protein with sera of 40 participants who were vaccinated in a previously reported trial with the messenger RNA–based COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2. The immune sera had slightly reduced but overall largely preserved neutralizing titers against the B.1.1.7 lineage pseudovirus. These data indicate that the B.1.1.7 lineage will not escape BNT162b2-mediated protection.