Humoral responses to the SARS-CoV-2 spike and receptor binding domain in context of pre-existing immunity confer broad sarbecovirus neutralization

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 (SARS-2), multiple vaccine candidates were developed and studied both preclinically and clinically. Nearly all are based on the SARS-2 spike glycoprotein or its receptor binding domain (RBD). Studies of these vaccine candidates have largely been in a SARS-2 naïve context. However, pre-existing immunity to SARS-2 acquired through infection or vaccination continues to increase. Evaluating future vaccine candidates in context of this pre-existing immunity is necessary to understand how immune responses are subsequently influenced. Here, we evaluated the serum and IgG+B cell responses to the SARS-2 RBD in context of pre-existing immunity elicited by the full SARS-2 spike, and we compared this to boosting with the full SARS-2 spike. Boosting with the SARS-2 RBD resulted in increased reactivity to RBD epitopes, but both immunization regimens resulted in similarly broad neutralization across diverse sarbecoviruses. These findings may inform comparison among SARS-2 RBD-based vaccine candidates to currently approved spike-based candidates.

Source: Frontiers in Immunology

DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.902260

Authors: Blake M. Hauser, Maya Sangesland, Evan C. Lam, Jared Feldman, Alejandro B. Balazs, Daniel Lingwood, Aaron G. Schmidt

Institutions: Harvard University, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,950

Funders: Charles H. Hood Foundation, Gilead Research Scholars, Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

OpenAlex ID: W4289839220