Cited by 1,253SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Researchvaccines and immunoinformatics approachesAnimal Virus Infections Studies

Antibody cocktail to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein prevents rapid mutational escape seen with individual antibodies

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Baum, Alina, Fulton, Benjamin O., Wloga, Elzbieta, Copin, Richard, Pascal, Kristen E., Russo, Vincenzo, Giordano, Stephanie, Lanza, Kathryn +8 more·2020·Science

Abstract

An antibody cocktail against SARS-CoV-2: There is an urgent focus on antibodies that target the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral spike and prevent the virus from entering host cells. Hansen et al. generated a large panel of antibodies against the spike protein from humanized mice and recovered patients. From this panel, they identified several neutralizing antibodies, including pairs that do not compete for binding to the receptor binding domain. Baum et al. focused in on four of these antibodies. All four are effective against known spike variants. However, by growing a pseudovirus that expresses the spike in the presence of individual antibodies, the authors were able to select for spike mutants resistant to that antibody. In contrast, escape mutants are not selected when pseudovirus is grown in the presence of pairs of antibodies that either do not compete or only partially compete for binding to the RBD. Such a pair might be used in a therapeutic antibody cocktail. Science , this issue p. 1010 , p. 1014

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  • Selection involved K417N/E/T for six antibodies, E484K for five, and N501Y/T/H for three; these match mutations in circulating B.1.1.17/501Y.V1, B.1.351/501Y.V2, and B1.1.28/501.V3 (P.1) variants.

    “Notably, 6 of the antibodies selected for K417N, E or T, 5 selected for E484K and 3 selected for N501Y, T or H, which coincide with mutations present in the circulating B.1.1.17/501Y.V1, B.1.351/501Y.V2 and B1.1.28/501.V3 (P.1) variants that have been associated with rapidly increasing case numbers in particular locales14,17,18,36.”
  • Several circulating variants linked to rapidly rising case counts are especially prevalent in the UK (B.1.1.7/501Y.V1), South Africa (B.1.351/501Y.V2), and Brazil (P.1).

    “A number of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants that have been associated with rapidly increasing case numbers and have particular prevalence in the UK (B.1.1.7/501Y.V1), South Africa (B.1.351/501Y.V2) and Brazil (P.1)14,17,18,36.”
  • The panel also included circulating variant residues K417N, Y453F, S477R, N501Y, and D614G, some linked to rapidly rising case counts.

    “Additionally, K417N, Y453F, S477R, N501Y, and D614G represent circulating variants some of which have been associated with rapidly increasing case numbers14,15,19,33–35.”
  • Mutations found in emergent S variants decrease sensitivity to neutralization by mAbs, convalescent plasma, and sera from vaccinated individuals.

    “Mutations found in emergent S variants decrease sensitivity to neutralization by mAbs, convalescent plasma, and sera from vaccinated individuals (27, 37, 58, 61–70).”
  • The E484K substitution alone confers resistance to several monoclonal antibodies.

    “The E484K substitution alone confers resistance to several monoclonal antibodies 9,10 .”

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Authors
Baum, A., Fulton, B. O., Wloga, E., Copin, R., Pascal, K. E., Russo, V., Giordano, S., Lanza, K., Negron, N., Ni, M., Wei, Y., Atwal, G. S., Murphy, A. J., Stahl, N., Yancopoulos, G. D., & Kyratsous, C. A.
Affiliations
Regeneron (United States) (US)
Corresponding author
Kyratsous, Christos A.
Venue
Science
Published
2020-08-21
Volume
369
Issue
6506
Pages
1014-1018
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W3034548712
Cited by
1,253
References
21
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 102 · 2023: 132 · 2022: 328 · 2021: 492 · 2020: 125
FWCI
35.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Institutional Repository (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (HHSO100201700020C)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Virus Infections Studies
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2, spike protein, antibody cocktail, antibody resistance, neutralizing antibodies, escape mutants, COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 variants
MeSH terms
Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Antibodies, Viral, Epitopes, Humans, Mutation, Neutralization Tests, Pneumonia, Viral, Selection, Genetic, Genome, Viral, Coronavirus Infections, Mutant Proteins, Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs, Antibodies, Neutralizing, Pandemics, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus

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