Cell . Evidence of escape of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 from natural and vaccine-induced sera

[tetano]

Cell


. 2021 Feb 23;S0092-8674(21)00226-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.037. Online ahead of print.
Evidence of escape of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 from natural and vaccine-induced sera


Daming Zhou ¹ , Wanwisa Dejnirattisai ² , Piyada Supasa ² , Chang Liu ³ , Alexander J Mentzer ⁴ , Helen M Ginn ⁵ , Yuguang Zhao ¹ , Helen M E Duyvesteyn ¹ , Aekkachai Tuekprakhon ² , Rungtiwa Nutalai ² , Beibei Wang ² , Guido C Paesen ¹ , Cesar Lopez-Camacho ² , Jose Slon-Campos ² , Bassam Hallis ⁶ , Naomi Coombes ⁶ , Kevin Bewley ⁶ , Sue Charlton ⁶ , Thomas S Walter ² , Donal Skelly ⁷ , Sheila F Lumley ⁸ , Christina Dold ⁹ , Robert Levin ¹⁰ , Tao Dong ¹¹ , Andrew J Pollard ⁹ , Julian C Knight ¹² , Derrick Crook ¹³ , Teresa Lambe ¹⁴ , Elizabeth Clutterbuck ⁹ , Sagida Bibi ⁹ , Amy Flaxman ¹⁴ , Mustapha Bittaye ¹⁴ , Sandra Belij-Rammerstorfer ¹⁴ , Sarah Gilbert ¹⁴ , William James ¹⁵ , Miles W Carroll ¹⁶ , Paul Klenerman ¹⁷ , Eleanor Barnes ¹⁷ , Susanna J Dunachie ¹⁸ , Elizabeth E Fry ¹ , Juthathip Mongkolsapaya ¹⁹ , Jingshan Ren ²⁰ , David I Stuart ²¹ , Gavin R Screaton ²²



Affiliations

• PMID: 33730597
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.037

Abstract

The race to produce vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began when the first sequence was published, and this forms the basis for vaccines currently deployed globally. Independent lineages of SARS-CoV-2 have recently been reported: UK, B.1.1.7; South Africa, B.1.351; and Brazil, P.1. These variants have multiple changes in the immunodominant spike protein that facilitates viral cell entry via the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor. Mutations in the receptor recognition site on the spike are of great concern for their potential for immune escape. Here, we describe a structure-function analysis of B.1.351 using a large cohort of convalescent and vaccinee serum samples. The receptor-binding domain mutations provide tighter ACE2 binding and widespread escape from monoclonal antibody neutralization largely driven by E484K, although K417N and N501Y act together against some important antibody classes. In a number of cases, it would appear that convalescent and some vaccine serum offers limited protection against this variant.

Keywords: ACE2; B.1.351; SARS-CoV-2; South Africa; antibody; escape; neutralization; receptor-binding domain; vaccine; variant.