Evasion of neutralizing antibody responses by the SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.75 variant

• Published in: Cell host & microbe Vol. 30; no. 11; pp. 1518 - 1526.e4
• Main Authors: Qu, Panke, Evans, John P., Zheng, Yi-Min, Carlin, Claire, Saif, Linda J., Oltz, Eugene M., Xu, Kai, Gumina, Richard J., Liu, Shan-Lu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 09.11.2022; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc
• Subjects: Antibodies, Neutralizing; Antibodies, Viral; BA.2.75; cell-cell fusion; COVID-19; Humans; mRNA booster; mRNAvaccine; Neutralization Tests; neutralizing antibodies; Omicron; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; Short; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - genetics; Viral Envelope Proteins; mRNA booster; SARS-CoV-2; cell-cell fusion; neutralizing antibodies; Omicron; BA.2.75; mRNAvaccine
• ISSN: 1931-3128; 1934-6069; 1934-6069
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2022.09.015

The newly emerged BA.2.75 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant contains 9 additional mutations in its spike (S) protein compared to the ancestral BA.2 variant. Here, we examine the neutralizing antibody escape of BA.2.75 in mRNA-vaccinated and BA.1-infected individuals, as well as the molecular basis underlying functional changes in S. Notably, BA.2.75 exhibits enhanced neutralization resistance over BA.2 but less than the BA.4/5 variant. The G446S and N460K mutations of BA.2.75 are primarily responsible for its enhanced resistance to neutralizing antibodies. The R493Q mutation, a reversion to the prototype sequence, reduces BA.2.75 neutralization resistance. The impact of these mutations is consistent with their locations in common neutralizing antibody epitopes. Further, BA.2.75 shows enhanced cell-cell fusion over BA.2, driven largely by the N460K mutation, which enhances S processing. Structural modeling reveals enhanced receptor contacts introduced by N460K, suggesting a mechanism of potentiated receptor utilization and syncytia formation. •BA.2.75 shows enhanced neutralization resistance and fusion over BA.2 but not BA.4/5•G446S, and to a lesser extent N460K, determines enhanced neutralization resistance•N460K drives enhanced spike processing and cell-cell fusion of BA.2.75•N460K potentiates ACE2 interactions likely by forming a salt bridge and hydrogen bond Newly emerged Omicron subvariants reignite concerns over escape from existing immunity. Qu and colleagues compare the immunity resistance and fusogenicity of BA.2.75 with prior variants. BA.2.75 exhibits stronger neutralization resistance than BA.2 but weaker than BA.4/5, as well as enhanced fusogenicity, which are largely driven by G446S and N460K, respectively.