Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . Characterization of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant that emerged in Brazil

[tetano]

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A


. 2021 Jul 6;118(27):e2106535118.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2106535118.
Characterization of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant that emerged in Brazil


Masaki Imai ¹ , Peter J Halfmann ² , Seiya Yamayoshi ¹ , Kiyoko Iwatsuki-Horimoto ¹ , Shiho Chiba ² , Tokiko Watanabe ^{1 3} , Noriko Nakajima ⁴ , Mutsumi Ito ¹ , Makoto Kuroda ² , Maki Kiso ¹ , Tadashi Maemura ^{1 2} , Kenta Takahashi ⁴ , Samantha Loeber ⁵ , Masato Hatta ² , Michiko Koga ^{6 7} , Hiroyuki Nagai ⁷ , Shinya Yamamoto ^{6 7} , Makoto Saito ^{6 7} , Eisuke Adachi ⁷ , Osamu Akasaka ⁸ , Morio Nakamura ⁹ , Ichiro Nakachi ¹⁰ , Takayuki Ogura ¹¹ , Rie Baba ¹⁰ , Kensuke Fujita ¹¹ , Junichi Ochi ¹² , Keiko Mitamura ¹³ , Hideaki Kato ^{14 15} , Hideaki Nakajima ¹⁵ , Kazuma Yagi ¹⁶ , Shin-Ichiro Hattori ¹⁷ , Kenji Maeda ¹⁷ , Tetsuya Suzuki ¹⁸ , Yusuke Miyazato ¹⁸ , Riccardo Valdez ¹⁹ , Carmen Gherasim ¹⁹ , Yuri Furusawa ¹ , Moe Okuda ¹ , Michiko Ujie ¹ , Tiago J S Lopes ^{1 2} , Atsuhiro Yasuhara ¹ , Hiroshi Ueki ¹ , Yuko Sakai-Tagawa ¹ , Amie J Eisfeld ² , John J Baczenas ^{20 21} , David A Baker ²⁰ , Shelby L O'Connor ^{20 21} , David H O'Connor ^{20 21} , Shuetsu Fukushi ²² , Tsuguto Fujimoto ²³ , Yudai Kuroda ²⁴ , Aubree Gordon ²⁵ , Ken Maeda ²⁴ , Norio Ohmagari ¹⁸ , Norio Sugaya ²⁶ , Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi ^{6 7} , Hiroaki Mitsuya ^{17 27} , Tadaki Suzuki ⁴ , Yoshihiro Kawaoka ^{28 2 29}



Affiliations

• PMID: 34140350
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2106535118

Abstract

The spike (S) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) plays a key role in viral infectivity. It is also the major antigen stimulating the host's protective immune response, specifically, the production of neutralizing antibodies. Recently, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 possessing multiple mutations in the S protein, designated P.1, emerged in Brazil. Here, we characterized a P.1 variant isolated in Japan by using Syrian hamsters, a well-established small animal model for the study of SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19). In hamsters, the variant showed replicative abilities and pathogenicity similar to those of early and contemporary strains (i.e., SARS-CoV-2 bearing aspartic acid [D] or glycine [G] at position 614 of the S protein). Sera and/or plasma from convalescent patients and BNT162b2 messenger RNA vaccinees showed comparable neutralization titers across the P.1 variant, S-614D, and S-614G strains. In contrast, the S-614D and S-614G strains were less well recognized than the P.1 variant by serum from a P.1-infected patient. Prior infection with S-614D or S-614G strains efficiently prevented the replication of the P.1 variant in the lower respiratory tract of hamsters upon reinfection. In addition, passive transfer of neutralizing antibodies to hamsters infected with the P.1 variant or the S-614G strain led to reduced virus replication in the lower respiratory tract. However, the effect was less pronounced against the P.1 variant than the S-614G strain. These findings suggest that the P.1 variant may be somewhat antigenically different from the early and contemporary strains of SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords: P.1 variant; SARS-CoV-2; Syrian hamsters; convalescent human plasma; reinfection.