Reduced antibody cross-reactivity following infection with B.1.1.7 than with parental SARS-CoV-2 strains

Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Evolution of antibody immunity to SARS-CoV-2

Christian Gaebler et al.

Summary: After infection with SARS-CoV-2, antibody levels against the spike protein decrease significantly, but the number of memory B cells remain unchanged, indicating an evolving humoral response at 6.2 months after infection.

NATURE (2021)

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News Item Critical Care Medicine

New variant of SARS-CoV-2 in UK causes surge of COVID-19

Tony Kirby

LANCET RESPIRATORY MEDICINE (2021)

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Article Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

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

Daming Zhou et al.

Summary: The race to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1, is ongoing as these variants have mutations in the spike protein, potentially leading to immune escape. A structure-function analysis of B.1.351 revealed tighter ACE2 binding and widespread evasion from monoclonal antibody neutralization, particularly driven by the E484K mutation.

CELL (2021)

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Letter Medicine, General & Internal

Neutralizing Activity of BNT162b2-Elicited Serum

Yang Liu et al.

NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE (2021)

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Article Medicine, General & Internal

Efficacy of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern 202012/01 (B.1.1.7): an exploratory analysis of a randomised controlled trial

Katherine R. W. Emary et al.

Summary: A post-hoc analysis was conducted on the efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine against the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK. The vaccine showed reduced neutralisation activity against the B.1.1.7 variant in vitro, but still demonstrated efficacy against the B.1.1.7 variant of the virus.

LANCET (2021)

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Article Infectious Diseases

Genomic characteristics and clinical effect of the emergent SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage in London, UK: a whole-genome sequencing and hospital-based cohort study

Dan Frampton et al.

Summary: This study describes the emergence of the B.1.1.7 variant of concern, its virological characteristics, and clinical severity in patients. Increased viral load was found in B.1.1.7 infection, but no association with severe disease was identified in the hospitalized cohort.

LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Escape of SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 from neutralization by convalescent plasma

Sandile Cele et al.

Summary: The study compared the neutralization of non-VOC and 501Y.V2 VOC variants using plasma from COVID-19 patients in South Africa. It found that plasma from individuals infected during the first wave effectively neutralized the first-wave virus variant, while plasma from those infected in the second wave effectively neutralized the 501Y.V2 variant.

NATURE (2021)

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Article Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Sensitivity of infectious SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants to neutralizing antibodies

Delphine Planas et al.

Summary: 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.

NATURE MEDICINE (2021)

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Article Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Reduced neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617 by vaccine and convalescent serum

Chang Liu et al.

Summary: Recent study examined the neutralizing ability of monoclonal antibodies, convalescent and vaccine sera against the Indian variants B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2, showing that the neutralization of these variants is reduced compared to the ancestral strains, without widespread antibody escape as seen in other variants like B.1.351.

CELL (2021)

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Letter Medicine, General & Internal