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Zhang L, Kempf A, Nehlmeier I, Cossmann A, Richter A, Bdeir N, Graichen L, Moldenhauer AS, Dopfer-Jablonka A, Stankov MV, Simon-Loriere E, Schulz SR, Jäck HM, Čičin-Šain L, Behrens GMN, Drosten C, Hoffmann M, Pöhlmann S. SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 enters lung cells and evades neutralizing antibodies with high efficiency. Cell 2024; 187:596-608.e17. [PMID: 38194966 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
BA.2.86, a recently identified descendant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron BA.2 sublineage, contains ∼35 mutations in the spike (S) protein and spreads in multiple countries. Here, we investigated whether the virus exhibits altered biological traits, focusing on S protein-driven viral entry. Employing pseudotyped particles, we show that BA.2.86, unlike other Omicron sublineages, enters Calu-3 lung cells with high efficiency and in a serine- but not cysteine-protease-dependent manner. Robust lung cell infection was confirmed with authentic BA.2.86, but the virus exhibited low specific infectivity. Further, BA.2.86 was highly resistant against all therapeutic antibodies tested, efficiently evading neutralization by antibodies induced by non-adapted vaccines. In contrast, BA.2.86 and the currently circulating EG.5.1 sublineage were appreciably neutralized by antibodies induced by the XBB.1.5-adapted vaccine. Collectively, BA.2.86 has regained a trait characteristic of early SARS-CoV-2 lineages, robust lung cell entry, and evades neutralizing antibodies. However, BA.2.86 exhibits low specific infectivity, which might limit transmissibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Zhang
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Amy Kempf
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Inga Nehlmeier
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anne Cossmann
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Anja Richter
- Institute of Virology, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Najat Bdeir
- Department of Viral Immunology, Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Luise Graichen
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Hannover-Braunschweig, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Metodi V Stankov
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Etienne Simon-Loriere
- G5 Evolutionary Genomics of RNA Viruses, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, 75015 Paris, France; National Reference Center for Viruses of respiratory Infections, Institut Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Sebastian R Schulz
- Division of Molecular Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine 3, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Hans-Martin Jäck
- Division of Molecular Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine 3, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Luka Čičin-Šain
- Department of Viral Immunology, Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Hannover-Braunschweig, 30625 Hannover, Germany; Center for Individualized Infection Medicine, a joint venture of HZI and MHH, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Georg M N Behrens
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Hannover-Braunschweig, 30625 Hannover, Germany; Center for Individualized Infection Medicine, a joint venture of HZI and MHH, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Christian Drosten
- Institute of Virology, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Markus Hoffmann
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Stefan Pöhlmann
- Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany; Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
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