An updated atlas of antibody evasion by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-variants including BQ.1.1 and XBB

Qingwen He; Lili Wu; Zepeng Xu; Xiaoyun Wang; Yufeng Xie; Yan Chai; Anqi Zheng; Jianjie Zhou; Shitong Qiao; Min Huang; Guijun Shang; Xin Zhao; Youjun Feng; Jianxun Qi; George Fu Gao; Qihui Wang

doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.100991

An updated atlas of antibody evasion by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sub-variants including BQ.1.1 and XBB

Cell Rep Med. 2023 Apr 18;4(4):100991. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.100991. Epub 2023 Mar 21.

Authors

Qingwen He¹, Lili Wu², Zepeng Xu³, Xiaoyun Wang³, Yufeng Xie⁴, Yan Chai², Anqi Zheng², Jianjie Zhou², Shitong Qiao², Min Huang⁵, Guijun Shang⁶, Xin Zhao², Youjun Feng⁷, Jianxun Qi⁸, George Fu Gao⁹, Qihui Wang¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
⁵ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui Province 230026, China.
⁶ Shanxi Academy of Advanced Research and Innovation, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province 030032, China.
⁷ Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, China.
⁸ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: jxqi@im.ac.cn.
⁹ Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China. Electronic address: gaof@im.ac.cn.
¹⁰ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: wangqihui@im.ac.cn.

Abstract

Emerging Omicron sub-variants are causing global concerns, and their immune evasion should be monitored continuously. We previously evaluated the escape of Omicron BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, and BA.3 from an atlas of 50 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), covering seven epitope classes of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding domain (RBD). Here, we update the atlas of totally 77 mAbs against emerging sub-variants including BQ.1.1 and XBB and find that BA.4/5, BQ.1.1, and XBB display further evasion. Besides, investigation into the correlation of binding and neutralization of mAbs reveals the important role of antigenic conformation in mAb functioning. Moreover, the complex structures of BA.2 RBD/BD-604/S304 and BA.4/5 RBD/BD-604/S304/S309 further elucidate the molecular mechanism of antibody evasion by these sub-variants. By focusing on the identified broadly potent mAbs, we find a general hotspot epitope on the RBD, which could guide the design of vaccines and calls for new broad-spectrum countermeasures against COVID-19.

Keywords: BA.2.13; BA.2.75; BA.4; BA.5; BQ.1.1; Omicron BA.2.12.1; SARS-CoV-2; XBB; human neutralizing antibodies; immune escape.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Monoclonal
COVID-19*
Epitopes
Humans
Immune Evasion
SARS-CoV-2*

Substances

Antibodies, Monoclonal
Epitopes