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Cell Rep
. 2020 May 18;107725.
doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107725. Online ahead of print.
Cross-reactive Antibody Response Between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV Infections
Huibin Lv 1 , Nicholas C Wu 2 , Owen Tak-Yin Tsang 3 , Meng Yuan 2 , Ranawaka A P M Perera 4 , Wai Shing Leung 3 , Ray T Y So 1 , Jacky Man Chun Chan 3 , Garrick K Yip 1 , Thomas Shiu Hong Chik 3 , Yiquan Wang 1 , Chris Yau Chung Choi 3 , Yihan Lin 1 , Wilson W Ng 1 , Jincun Zhao 5 , Leo L M Poon 1 , J S Malik Peiris 1 4 , Ian A Wilson 2 6 , Chris K P Mok 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 32426212
- PMCID: PMC7231734
- DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107725
Abstract
The World Health Organization has declared the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, which is caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, as pandemic. There is currently a lack of knowledge about the antibody response elicited from SARS-CoV-2 infection. One major immunological question concerns antigenic differences between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV. We address this question by analyzing plasma from patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-CoV, and from infected or immunized mice. Our results show that, while cross-reactivity in antibody binding to the spike protein is common, cross-neutralization of the live viruses may be rare, indicating the presence of non-neutralizing antibody response to conserved epitopes in the spike. Whether such low or non-neutralizing antibody response leads to antibody-dependent disease enhancement needs to be addressed in the future. Overall, this study not only addresses a fundamental question regarding antigenicity differences between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, but also has implications for immunogen design and vaccine development.