SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617 is resistant to bamlanivimab and evades antibodies induced by infection and vaccination

Hoffmann M, Hofmann-Winkler H, Krüger N, Kempf A, Nehlmeier I, Graichen L, Arora P, Sidarovich A, Moldenhauer AS, Winkler MS, Schulz S, Jäck HM, Stankov MV, Behrens GM, Pöhlmann S (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Cell Reports Elsevier (Cell Press)

Book Volume: 36

Article Number: 109415

Journal Issue: 3

DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109415

Abstract

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants threatens efforts to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in India has risen steeply, and a SARS-CoV-2 variant, B.1.617, is believed to be responsible for many of these cases. The spike protein of B.1.617 harbors two mutations in the receptor binding domain, which interacts with the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and constitutes the main target of neutralizing antibodies. Therefore, we analyze whether B.1.617 is more adept in entering cells and/or evades antibody responses. B.1.617 enters two of eight cell lines tested with roughly 50% increased efficiency and is equally inhibited by two entry inhibitors. In contrast, B.1.617 is resistant against bamlanivimab, an antibody used for COVID-19 treatment. B.1.617 evades antibodies induced by infection or vaccination, although less so than the B.1.351 variant. Collectively, our study reveals that antibody evasion of B.1.617 may contribute to the rapid spread of this variant.

Authors with CRIS profile

Sebastian Schulz Professur für Immunologie Hans-Martin Jäck Department of Molecular Immunology

Involved external institutions

Deutsches Primatenzentrum (DPZ), Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung DE Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Göttingen DE Germany (DE) Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (MHH) / Hannover Medical School DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Hoffmann, M., Hofmann-Winkler, H., Krüger, N., Kempf, A., Nehlmeier, I., Graichen, L.,... Pöhlmann, S. (2021). SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617 is resistant to bamlanivimab and evades antibodies induced by infection and vaccination. Cell Reports, 36(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109415

MLA:

Hoffmann, Markus, et al. "SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617 is resistant to bamlanivimab and evades antibodies induced by infection and vaccination." Cell Reports 36.3 (2021).

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