The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 variant A.30 is heavily mutated and evades vaccine-induced antibodies with high efficiency
Prerna Arora, Cheila Rocha, Amy Kempf, Inga Nehlmeier, Luise Graichen, Martin Sebastian Winkler, Martin Lier, Sebastian Schulz, Hans‐Martin Jäck, Anne Cossmann, Metodi V. Stankov, Georg M. N. Behrens, Stefan Pöhlmann, Markus Hoffmann
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, continues to rage in many countries, straining health systems and economies. Vaccines protect against severe disease and death and are considered central to ending the pandemic. COVID-19 vaccines (and SARS-CoV-2 infection) elicit antibodies that are directed against the viral spike (S) protein and neutralize the virus. However, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with S protein mutations that confer resistance to neutralization might compromise vaccine efficacy [ 1 ]. Furthermore, emerging viral variants with enhanced transmissibility, likely due to altered virus-host cell interactions, might rapidly spread globally. Therefore, it is important to investigate whether emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants exhibit altered host cell interactions and resistance against antibody-mediated neutralization.