Cell host & microbe
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Cell host & microbe · Mar 2021
Comprehensive mapping of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain that affect recognition by polyclonal human plasma antibodies.
The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 could impair recognition of the virus by human antibody-mediated immunity. To facilitate prospective surveillance for such evolution, we map how convalescent plasma antibodies are impacted by all mutations to the spike's receptor-binding domain (RBD), the main target of plasma neutralizing activity. Binding by polyclonal plasma antibodies is affected by mutations in three main epitopes in the RBD, but longitudinal samples reveal that the impact of these mutations on antibody binding varies substantially both among individuals and within the same individual over time. ⋯ V2 and 20J/501Y. V3 SARS-CoV-2 lineages. Going forward, these plasma escape maps can inform surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 evolution.
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Cell host & microbe · Mar 2021
Identification of SARS-CoV-2 spike mutations that attenuate monoclonal and serum antibody neutralization.
Neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein are a goal of COVID-19 vaccines and have received emergency use authorization as therapeutics. However, viral escape mutants could compromise efficacy. To define immune-selected mutations in the S protein, we exposed a VSV-eGFP-SARS-CoV-2-S chimeric virus, in which the VSV glycoprotein is replaced with the S protein, to 19 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and generated 50 different escape mutants. ⋯ Some variants (e.g., S477N) were resistant to neutralization by multiple mAbs, whereas others (e.g., E484K) escaped neutralization by convalescent sera. Additionally, sequential selection identified mutants that escape neutralization by antibody cocktails. Comparing these antibody-mediated mutations with sequence variation in circulating SARS-CoV-2 revealed substitutions that may attenuate neutralizing immune responses in some humans and thus warrant further investigation.
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Cell host & microbe · Mar 2021
The great escape? SARS-CoV-2 variants evading neutralizing responses.
In the latest issues of Cell Host & Microbe and Cell, three articles describe new mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor binding domain that escape neutralizing responses. These highlight the importance of surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 evolution to anticipate and manage new variants that could impact reinfection, vaccine efficacy, and immunotherapies.
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Cell host & microbe · Feb 2021
Functional interrogation of a SARS-CoV-2 host protein interactome identifies unique and shared coronavirus host factors.
The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has devastated the global economy and claimed more than 1.7 million lives, presenting an urgent global health crisis. To identify host factors required for infection by SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal coronaviruses, we designed a focused high-coverage CRISPR-Cas9 library targeting 332 members of a recently published SARS-CoV-2 protein interactome. ⋯ This approach yielded several insights, including potential virus-specific differences in Rab GTPase requirements and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor biosynthesis, as well as identification of multiple pan-coronavirus factors involved in cholesterol homeostasis. This coronavirus essentiality catalog could inform ongoing drug development efforts aimed at intercepting and treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and help prepare for future coronavirus outbreaks.
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Cell host & microbe · Feb 2021
Intranasal vaccination with a lentiviral vector protects against SARS-CoV-2 in preclinical animal models.
To develop a vaccine candidate against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we generated a lentiviral vector (LV) eliciting neutralizing antibodies against the Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. Systemic vaccination by this vector in mice, in which the expression of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor hACE2 has been induced by transduction of respiratory tract cells by an adenoviral vector, confers only partial protection despite high levels of serum neutralizing activity. ⋯ Moreover, both integrative and non-integrative LV platforms display strong vaccine efficacy and inhibit lung deleterious injury in golden hamsters, which are naturally permissive to SARS-CoV-2 replication and closely mirror human COVID-19 physiopathology. Our results provide evidence of marked prophylactic effects of LV-based vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 and designate intranasal immunization as a powerful approach against COVID-19.