Extensive neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 variants elicited by Omicron-specific subunit vaccine as a heterologous booster

oleh: Pai Peng, Chengqian Feng, Jie Hu, Changlong He, Haijun Deng, Qinghong Fan, Jin Xiang, Guofang Tang, Meng-ling Jiang, Fengyu Hu, Feng Li, Kai Wang, Ni Tang, Xiao-ping Tang, Ailong Huang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Elsevier 2022-11-01

Deskripsi

Summary: To overcome the increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection or post-vaccination infection caused by the Omicron variant, Omicron-specific vaccines were considered a potential strategy. We reported the increased magnitude and breadth of antibody response against VOCs elicited by post-vaccination Delta and Omicron infection, compared to WT infection without vaccination. Then, in mouse models, three doses of Omicron-RBD immunization elicited comparable neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers with three doses of WT-RBD immunization, but the neutralizing activity was not cross-active. By contrast, a heterologous Omicron-RBD booster following two doses of WT-RBD immunization increased the NAb titers against Omicron by 9-folds than the homologous WT-RBD booster. Moreover, it retains neutralization against both WT and current VOCs. Results suggest that Omicron-specific subunit booster shows its advantages in the immune protection from both WT and current VOCs and that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines including two or more virus lineages might improve the NAb response.