Classification of five SARS-CoV-2 serotypes based on RBD antigenicities

Shixiong Hu; Chunli Wu; Xinkai Wu; Xuehui Ma; Chang Shu; Qian Chen; Anqi Zheng; Huiting Yang; Jian Lu; Pei Du; George Fu Gao; Qihui Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2023.09.048

Classification of five SARS-CoV-2 serotypes based on RBD antigenicities

Sci Bull (Beijing). 2023 Dec 15;68(23):3003-3012. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.09.048. Epub 2023 Oct 4.

Authors

Shixiong Hu¹, Chunli Wu², Xinkai Wu³, Xuehui Ma⁴, Chang Shu⁵, Qian Chen⁶, Anqi Zheng⁴, Huiting Yang⁴, Jian Lu⁷, Pei Du⁸, George Fu Gao⁹, Qihui Wang¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, 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; School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
³ School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁶ Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China.
⁷ School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address: luj@pku.edu.cn.
⁸ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: dupei@im.ac.cn.
⁹ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: gaof@im.ac.cn.
¹⁰ College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China. Electronic address: wangqihui@im.ac.cn.

PMID: 37919162
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.09.048

Abstract

The continuous evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in a significant number of variants, particularly with the emergence of Omicron with many sub-variants. These variants have exhibited increased immune escape, leading to reduced efficacy of existing vaccines and therapeutic antibodies. Given the diminished cross-neutralization observed among these variants, it is plausible that SARS-CoV-2 has developed multiple serotypes. As the major antigenic site, the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of viral spike (S) protein was chosen for serotyping. We selected 23 representative variants, including pre-Omicron variants and Omicron sub-variants, and classified them into five serotypes based on systematic evaluation of the antigenicities of their RBDs. Each serotype includes several genetically distinct variants. Serotype-I encompasses all pre-Omicron variants (with two subtypes), while the remaining four serotypes are all comprised of Omicron sub-variants at different stages of evolution. We propose that these serotypes can serve as a foundation for rapid classification of newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, and guide the development of future broad-spectrum vaccines and neutralizing antibodies against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Keywords: Receptor-binding domain (RBD); SARS-CoV-2; Serotype classification; Spike (S); mRNA vaccine.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Humans
SARS-CoV-2 / genetics
Serogroup
Vaccines*

Substances

Vaccines

Supplementary concepts

SARS-CoV-2 variants