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Impaired potency of neutralizing antibodies against cell-cell fusion mediated by SARS-CoV-2.

Qian WangAndre Yanchen YehYicheng GuoHiroshi MohriJian YuDavid D HoLihong Liu
Published in: Emerging microbes & infections (2023)
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants have dominated the pandemic due to their high transmissibility and immune evasion conferred by the spike mutations. The Omicron subvariants can spread by cell-free virus infection and cell-cell fusion, the latter of which is more effective but has not been extensively investigated. In this study, we developed a simple and high-throughput assay that provides a rapid readout to quantify cell-cell fusion mediated by the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins without using live or pseudotyped virus. This assay can be used to identify variants of concern and to screen for prophylactic and therapeutic agents. We further evaluated a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and vaccinee sera against D614G and Omicron subvariants, finding that cell-cell fusion is substantially more resistant to mAb and serum inhibition than cell-free virus infection. Such results have important implications for the development of vaccines and antiviral antibody drugs against cell-cell fusion induced by SARS-CoV-2 spikes.
Keyphrases
  • sars cov
  • single cell
  • high throughput
  • cell therapy
  • cell free
  • coronavirus disease
  • gene expression
  • mesenchymal stem cells
  • dna methylation
  • zika virus
  • stem cells
  • bone marrow