Host cell entry and neutralisation sensitivity of the SARS-CoV-2 XBB.1.16 lineage
Inga Nehlmeier, Amy Kempf, Prerna Arora, Anne Cossmann, Alexandra Dopfer‐Jablonka, Metodi V. Stankov, Sebastian Schulz, Hans‐Martin Jäck, Georg M. N. Behrens, Stefan Pöhlmann, Markus Hoffmann
Abstract
Despite previous circulation of the highly transmissible and antibody evasive BA.2.75, BQ.1, XBB.1 and XBB.1.5 lineages, the share of infections caused by the SARS-CoV-2 lineage XBB.1.16 has gradually increased in India in early 2023, resulting in XBB.1.16 being the dominating SARS-CoV-2 lineage in India today. Since a similar trend may also take place in other countries and information on the biological properties of the XBB.1.16 lineage is scarce, we conducted a rapid assessment of the SARS-CoV-2 XBB.1.16 lineage with respect to its ability to enter cells and evade neutralisation by antibodies.