Journal
NATURE MEDICINE
Volume 27, Issue 5, Pages 917-+Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01318-5
Keywords
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Funding
- Institut Pasteur
- ANRS
- Vaccine Research Institute [ANR-10-LABX-77]
- Labex IBEID [ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID]
- ANR/FRM Flash COVID PROTEO-SARS-CoV-2
- IDISCOVR
- Region Ile-de-France program DIM1-Health
- French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation
- Milieu Interieur Program [ANR-10-LABX-69-01]
- INSERM
- REACTing EU (RECOVER) grants
- CNRS
- Universite de Paris
- Sante publique France
- Strasbourg University Hospital (SeroCoV-HUS) [PRI 7782]
- Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique (PHRC N 2017-HUS) [6997]
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche [ANR-18-CE17-0028]
- Laboratoire d'Excellence TRANSPLANTEX [ANR11-LABX-0070_TRANSPLANTEX]
- Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale [UMR_S 1109]
- COREVIH Centre Val de Loire
- Urgence COVID19 Fundraising Campaign of Institut Pasteur
- [ANR-10-INSB-04-01]
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The ability of convalescent sera from individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 and those vaccinated with BNT162b2 to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants B1.1.7 and B.1.351 decreases, but increases after two vaccine doses. The study found that the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants may have acquired partial resistance to neutralizing antibodies generated by natural infection or vaccination, particularly in individuals with low antibody levels. This suggests that the B.1.351 variant may pose a greater risk of infection in immunized individuals.
Sera from convalescent individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 and from individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2 have reduced ability to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants B1.1.7 and B.1.351, but antibody potency against the variants increases after two vaccine doses. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants were first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa, respectively, and have since spread to many countries. These variants harboring diverse mutations in the gene encoding the spike protein raise important concerns about their immune evasion potential. Here, we isolated infectious B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 strains from acutely infected individuals. We examined sensitivity of the two variants to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies present in sera and nasal swabs from individuals infected with previously circulating strains or who were recently vaccinated, in comparison with a D614G reference virus. We utilized a new rapid neutralization assay, based on reporter cells that become positive for GFP after overnight infection. Sera from 58 convalescent individuals collected up to 9 months after symptoms, similarly neutralized B.1.1.7 and D614G. In contrast, after 9 months, convalescent sera had a mean sixfold reduction in neutralizing titers, and 40% of the samples lacked any activity against B.1.351. Sera from 19 individuals vaccinated twice with Pfizer Cominarty, longitudinally tested up to 6 weeks after vaccination, were similarly potent against B.1.1.7 but less efficacious against B.1.351, when compared to D614G. Neutralizing titers increased after the second vaccine dose, but remained 14-fold lower against B.1.351. In contrast, sera from convalescent or vaccinated individuals similarly bound the three spike proteins in a flow cytometry-based serological assay. Neutralizing antibodies were rarely detected in nasal swabs from vaccinees. Thus, faster-spreading SARS-CoV-2 variants acquired a partial resistance to neutralizing antibodies generated by natural infection or vaccination, which was most frequently detected in individuals with low antibody levels. Our results indicate that B1.351, but not B.1.1.7, may increase the risk of infection in immunized individuals.
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