Protein-based SARS-CoV-2 spike vaccine booster increases cross-neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in non-human primates

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 1699 - 9
• Main Authors: Pavot, Vincent, Berry, Catherine, Kishko, Michael, Anosova, Natalie G., Huang, Dean, Tibbitts, Tim, Raillard, Alice, Gautheron, Sylviane, Gutzeit, Cindy, Koutsoukos, Marguerite, Chicz, Roman M., Lecouturier, Valerie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 31.03.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/1; 631/250/590/2294; 631/326/596/4130; 692/308/2778; 692/699/255/2514; Animals; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral; Clinical trials; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 Vaccines; Cross-protection; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; mRNA; multidisciplinary; Neutralization; Neutralizing; Primates; Proteins; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; Spike protein; Vaccine efficacy; Vaccines; Viral diseases; Viral Vaccines
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29219-2

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants that partly evade neutralizing antibodies raises concerns of reduced vaccine effectiveness and increased infection. We previously demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein vaccine adjuvanted with AS03 (CoV2 preS dTM-AS03) elicits robust neutralizing antibody responses in naïve subjects. Here we show that, in macaques primed with mRNA or protein-based subunit vaccine candidates, one booster dose of CoV2 preS dTM-AS03 (monovalent D614 or B.1.351, or bivalent D614 + B.1.351 formulations), significantly boosts the pre-existing neutralizing antibodies against the parental strain from 177- to 370-fold. Importantly, the booster dose elicits high and persistent cross-neutralizing antibodies covering five former or current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron) and, unexpectedly, SARS-CoV-1. Interestingly, we show that the booster specifically increases the functional antibody responses as compared to the receptor binding domain (RBD)-specific responses. Our findings show that these vaccine candidates, when used as a booster, have the potential to offer cross-protection against a broad spectrum of variants. This has important implications for vaccine control of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and informs on the benefit of a booster with the vaccine candidates currently under evaluation in clinical trials. Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) raise questions on vaccine effectiveness. Here, the authors show that an adjuvanted protein-based SARS-CoV-2 spike vaccine booster increases cross-neutralization of VOC, including omicron, in non-human primates.