Washington : An international team of scientists have identified antibodies that neutralize omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. These antibodies target areas of the virus spike protein that remain essentially unchanged as the viruses mutate.
David Veesler, investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle led the research project with Davide Corti of Humabs Biomed SA, Vir Biotechnology, in Switzerland. The study’s findings were published on December 23 in the journal Nature. The lead authors of the study were Elisabetta Cameroni and Christian Saliba (Humabs), John E. Bowen (UW Biochemistry) and Laura Rosen (Vir).
By identifying the targets of these “broadly neutralizing” antibodies on the spike protein, it might be possible to design vaccines and antibody treatments that will be effective against not only the omicron variant but other variants that may emerge in the future, said David Veesler. “This finding tells us that by focusing on antibodies that target these highly conserved sites on the spike protein, there is a way to overcome the virus’ continual evolution”
Veesler and his colleagues speculate that omicron’s large number of mutations might have accumulated during a prolonged infection in someone with a weakened immune system.
The omicron variant spike protein was able to bind 2.4 times better than spike protein found in the virus isolated at the very beginning of the pandemic. They found that antibodies from people who had been infected by earlier strains and from those who had received one of the six most-used vaccines currently available all had reduced ability to block infection. Antibodies from people who had been infected, recovered, and then had two doses of vaccine also had reduced activity, but the reduction was less, about fivefold, clearly demonstrating that vaccination after infection is useful.
The finding that antibodies are able to neutralize via recognition of conserved areas in so many different variants of the virus suggest that designing vaccines and antibody treatments that target these regions could be effective against a broad spectrum of variants that emerge through mutation, Veesler said.
The research was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences , Fast Grants, the Pew Charitable Trusts, The Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis, the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (JP21wm0125002), the Pew Biomedical Scholars Award, and the Swiss Kidney Foundation.
The published report can be accessed though https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03825-4