Spike recognition and neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants elicited after the third dose of mRNA vaccine

Alexandra Tauzin; Alexandre Nicolas; Shilei Ding; Mehdi Benlarbi; Halima Medjahed; Debashree Chatterjee; Katrina Dionne; Shang Yu Gong; Gabrielle Gendron-Lepage; Yuxia Bo; Josée Perreault; Guillaume Goyette; Laurie Gokool; Pascale Arlotto; Chantal Morrisseau; Cécile Tremblay; Valérie Martel-Laferrière; Gaston De Serres; Inès Levade; Daniel E Kaufmann; Marceline Côté; Renée Bazin; Andrés Finzi

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2023.111998

Spike recognition and neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants elicited after the third dose of mRNA vaccine

Cell Rep. 2023 Jan 31;42(1):111998. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.111998. Epub 2023 Jan 9.

Authors

Alexandra Tauzin¹, Alexandre Nicolas¹, Shilei Ding², Mehdi Benlarbi¹, Halima Medjahed², Debashree Chatterjee², Katrina Dionne¹, Shang Yu Gong³, Gabrielle Gendron-Lepage², Yuxia Bo⁴, Josée Perreault⁵, Guillaume Goyette², Laurie Gokool², Pascale Arlotto², Chantal Morrisseau², Cécile Tremblay¹, Valérie Martel-Laferrière¹, Gaston De Serres⁶, Inès Levade⁷, Daniel E Kaufmann⁸, Marceline Côté⁴, Renée Bazin⁵, Andrés Finzi⁹

Affiliations

¹ Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada.
² Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada.
³ Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
⁴ Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, and Centre for Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.
⁵ Héma-Québec, Affaires Médicales et Innovation, Quebec, QC G1V 5C3, Canada.
⁶ Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Quebec, QC H2P 1E2, Canada.
⁷ Laboratoire de Santé Publique du Québec, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3R5, Canada.
⁸ Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Lausanne and University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁹ Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada. Electronic address: andres.finzi@umontreal.ca.

Abstract

Several severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron subvariants have recently emerged, becoming the dominant circulating strains in many countries. These variants contain a large number of mutations in their spike glycoprotein, raising concerns about vaccine efficacy. In this study, we evaluate the ability of plasma from a cohort of individuals that received three doses of mRNA vaccine to recognize and neutralize these Omicron subvariant spikes. We observed that BA.4/5 and BQ.1.1 spikes are markedly less recognized and neutralized compared with the D614G and other Omicron subvariant spikes tested. Also, individuals who have been infected before or after vaccination present better humoral responses than SARS-CoV-2-naive vaccinated individuals, thus indicating that hybrid immunity generates better humoral responses against these subvariants.

Keywords: B cell responses; COVID-19; CP: Immunology; Omicron subvariants; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; humoral responses; hybrid immunity; neutralization; spike glycoproteins; third mRNA vaccine dose.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Neutralizing
Antibodies, Viral
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Mutation
SARS-CoV-2* / genetics
Vaccines, Synthetic
mRNA Vaccines

Substances

Vaccines, Synthetic
Antibodies, Viral
Antibodies, Neutralizing

Grants and funding

177958/CIHR/Canada