J Immunol . A Potently Neutralizing Antibody Protects Mice Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection

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J Immunol


. 2020 Jun 26;ji2000583.
doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.2000583. Online ahead of print.
A Potently Neutralizing Antibody Protects Mice Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection


Wafaa B Alsoussi ¹ , Jackson S Turner ¹ , James B Case ² , Haiyan Zhao ¹ , Aaron J Schmitz ¹ , Julian Q Zhou ³ , Rita E Chen ² , Tingting Lei ¹ , Amena A Rizk ¹ , Katherine M McIntire ¹ , Emma S Winkler ^{1 2} , Julie M Fox ² , Natasha M Kafai ^{1 2} , Larissa B Thackray ² , Ahmed O Hassan ² , Fatima Amanat ^{4 5} , Florian Krammer ⁴ , Corey T Watson ⁶ , Steven H Kleinstein ^{3 7 8} , Daved H Fremont ^{1 9 10} , Michael S Diamond ^{1 2 9 11} , Ali H Ellebedy ^{12 9 11}



Affiliations

• PMID: 32591393
• DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2000583

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths globally. There are no widely available licensed therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2, highlighting an urgent need for effective interventions. The virus enters host cells through binding of a receptor-binding domain within its trimeric spike glycoprotein to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. In this article, we describe the generation and characterization of a panel of murine mAbs directed against the receptor-binding domain. One mAb, 2B04, neutralized wild-type SARS-CoV-2 in vitro with remarkable potency (half-maximal inhibitory concentration of <2 ng/ml). In a murine model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 2B04 protected challenged animals from weight loss, reduced lung viral load, and blocked systemic dissemination. Thus, 2B04 is a promising candidate for an effective antiviral that can be used to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.