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SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged under immune selection
Chee Wah Tan1, Wan Ni Chia2, Feng Zhu2
1Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore. cheewah.tan@duke-nus.edu.sg.
Nature Microbiology
|October 4, 2022
Summary
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 shows significant antibody escape compared to animal sarbecoviruses. This suggests SARS-CoV-2 variants are evolving differently due to immune selection pressure.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Immunology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage) exhibits reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies.
- Understanding the neutralization escape of SARS-CoV-2 variants relative to other sarbecoviruses is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the neutralization escape of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant against a panel of sarbecoviruses.
- To investigate the impact of infection and vaccination status on antibody responses.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a multiplex surrogate virus neutralization assay.
- Tested human serum panels from individuals with diverse infection and vaccination histories.
- Assessed neutralization against 20 different sarbecoviruses, including Omicron.
Main Results:
- The Omicron variant demonstrated significantly greater neutralization escape than bat and pangolin sarbecoviruses.
- Human serum panels showed varied neutralization capabilities depending on participant history.
Conclusions:
- SARS-CoV-2 variants, like Omicron, have evolved distinct neutralization resistance profiles.
- Immune selection pressure appears to be driving divergent evolution between SARS-CoV-2 and animal sarbecoviruses.
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