Antibody escape of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 from vaccine and BA.1 serum

Aekkachai Tuekprakhon; Rungtiwa Nutalai; Aiste Dijokaite-Guraliuc; Daming Zhou; Helen M Ginn; Muneeswaran Selvaraj; Chang Liu; Alexander J Mentzer; Piyada Supasa; Helen M E Duyvesteyn; Raksha Das; Donal Skelly; Thomas G Ritter; Ali Amini; Sagida Bibi; Sandra Adele; Sile Ann Johnson; Bede Constantinides; Hermione Webster; Nigel Temperton; Paul Klenerman; Eleanor Barnes; Susanna J Dunachie; Derrick Crook; Andrew J Pollard; Teresa Lambe; Philip Goulder; Neil G Paterson; Mark A Williams; David R Hall; OPTIC Consortium; ISARIC4C Consortium; Elizabeth E Fry; Jiandong Huo; Juthathip Mongkolsapaya; Jingshan Ren; David I Stuart; Gavin R Screaton

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.005

Antibody escape of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 from vaccine and BA.1 serum

Cell. 2022 Jul 7;185(14):2422-2433.e13. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.005. Epub 2022 Jun 9.

Authors

Aekkachai Tuekprakhon¹, Rungtiwa Nutalai¹, Aiste Dijokaite-Guraliuc¹, Daming Zhou², Helen M Ginn³, Muneeswaran Selvaraj¹, Chang Liu⁴, Alexander J Mentzer⁵, Piyada Supasa¹, Helen M E Duyvesteyn⁶, Raksha Das¹, Donal Skelly⁷, Thomas G Ritter⁸, Ali Amini⁹, Sagida Bibi¹⁰, Sandra Adele⁸, Sile Ann Johnson⁸, Bede Constantinides¹¹, Hermione Webster¹¹, Nigel Temperton¹², Paul Klenerman¹³, Eleanor Barnes¹³, Susanna J Dunachie¹⁴, Derrick Crook¹¹, Andrew J Pollard¹⁵, Teresa Lambe¹⁶, Philip Goulder¹⁷, Neil G Paterson³, Mark A Williams³, David R Hall³; OPTIC Consortium; ISARIC4C Consortium; Elizabeth E Fry¹⁸, Jiandong Huo¹⁹, Juthathip Mongkolsapaya²⁰, Jingshan Ren²¹, David I Stuart²², Gavin R Screaton²³

Collaborators

Christopher Conlon, Alexandra Deeks, John Frater, Lisa Frending, Siobhan Gardiner, Anni Jämsén, Katie Jeffery, Tom Malone, Eloise Phillips, Lucy Rothwell, Lizzie Stafford

Affiliations

¹ Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
² Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK; Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) Oxford Institute (COI), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
³ Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science & Innovation Campus, Didcot, UK.
⁴ Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) Oxford Institute (COI), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁵ Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK.
⁶ Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK.
⁷ Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK; Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Oxford, UK; Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁸ Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK.
⁹ Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK; Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Oxford, UK; Translational Gastroenterology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁰ Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹¹ Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹² Viral Pseudotype Unit, Medway School of Pharmacy, University of Kent and Greenwich Chatham Maritime, Kent, UK.
¹³ Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK; Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Oxford, UK; Translational Gastroenterology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, UK.
¹⁴ Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK; Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Oxford, UK; Centre For Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁵ Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, UK.
¹⁶ Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) Oxford Institute (COI), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁷ Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Oxford, UK; Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁸ Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK. Electronic address: liz@strubi.ox.ac.uk.
¹⁹ Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK. Electronic address: dongdong.imm.ox.ac.uk@gmail.com.
²⁰ Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) Oxford Institute (COI), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Electronic address: juthathip.mongkolsapaya@well.ox.ac.uk.
²¹ Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK. Electronic address: ren@strubi.ox.ac.uk.
²² Division of Structural Biology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK; Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) Oxford Institute (COI), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Diamond Light Source Ltd, Harwell Science & Innovation Campus, Didcot, UK. Electronic address: dave@strubi.ox.ac.uk.
²³ Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS) Oxford Institute (COI), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Electronic address: gavin.screaton@medsci.ox.ac.uk.

Abstract

The Omicron lineage of SARS-CoV-2, which was first described in November 2021, spread rapidly to become globally dominant and has split into a number of sublineages. BA.1 dominated the initial wave but has been replaced by BA.2 in many countries. Recent sequencing from South Africa's Gauteng region uncovered two new sublineages, BA.4 and BA.5, which are taking over locally, driving a new wave. BA.4 and BA.5 contain identical spike sequences, and although closely related to BA.2, they contain further mutations in the receptor-binding domain of their spikes. Here, we study the neutralization of BA.4/5 using a range of vaccine and naturally immune serum and panels of monoclonal antibodies. BA.4/5 shows reduced neutralization by the serum from individuals vaccinated with triple doses of AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine compared with BA.1 and BA.2. Furthermore, using the serum from BA.1 vaccine breakthrough infections, there are, likewise, significant reductions in the neutralization of BA.4/5, raising the possibility of repeat Omicron infections.

Keywords: BA.4; BA.5; COVID-19; Omicron; SARS-CoV-2; VoC; antibody escape; variant.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Neutralizing
Antibodies, Viral
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Neutralization Tests
SARS-CoV-2 / genetics
South Africa
Viral Vaccines*

Substances

Antibodies, Neutralizing
Antibodies, Viral
Viral Vaccines

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding