Neutralization escape of Omicron XBB, BR.2, and BA.2.3.20 subvariants

Julia N Faraone; Panke Qu; John P Evans; Yi-Min Zheng; Claire Carlin; Mirela Anghelina; Patrick Stevens; Soledad Fernandez; Daniel Jones; Gerard Lozanski; Ashish Panchal; Linda J Saif; Eugene M Oltz; Richard J Gumina; Shan-Lu Liu

doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101049

Neutralization escape of Omicron XBB, BR.2, and BA.2.3.20 subvariants

Cell Rep Med. 2023 May 16;4(5):101049. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101049. Epub 2023 Apr 25.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
² Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
⁵ Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁶ Department of Emergency Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁷ Center for Food Animal Health, Animal Sciences Department, OARDC, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA; Veterinary Preventive Medicine Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA; Viruses and Emerging Pathogens Program, Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
⁸ Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
¹⁰ Center for Retrovirus Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Viruses and Emerging Pathogens Program, Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Electronic address: liu.6244@osu.edu.

Abstract

New Omicron subvariants continue to emerge throughout the world. In particular, the XBB subvariant, which is a recombinant virus between BA.2.10.1.1 and BA.2.75.3.1.1.1, as well as the BA.2.3.20 and BR.2 subvariants that contain mutations distinct from BA.2 and BA.2.75, are currently increasing in proportion of variants sequenced. Here we show that antibodies induced by 3-dose mRNA booster vaccination as well as BA.1- and BA.4/5-wave infection effectively neutralize BA.2, BR.2, and BA.2.3.20 but have significantly reduced efficiency against XBB. In addition, the BA.2.3.20 subvariant exhibits enhanced infectivity in the lung-derived CaLu-3 cells and in 293T-ACE2 cells. Overall, our results demonstrate that the XBB subvariant is highly neutralization resistant, which highlights the need for continued monitoring of the immune escape and tissue tropism of emerging Omicron subvariants.

Keywords: BA.2.3.20; BR.2; SARS-CoV-2; XBB; immune evasion; infectivity; mRNA vaccine; neutralizing antibody.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Antibodies*
HEK293 Cells
Humans
Immunization, Secondary
Mutation
RNA, Messenger

Substances

Antibodies
RNA, Messenger

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding