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Updated: Jul 17, 2025

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies using High-Throughput Fluorescent Imaging of Pseudovirus Infection
Published on: June 5, 2021
Antigenic evolution of SARS coronavirus 2
Anna Z Mykytyn1, Ron Am Fouchier1, Bart L Haagmans1
1Viroscience Department, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, emerged in China in December 2019. Vaccines developed were very effective initially, however, the virus has shown remarkable evolution with multiple variants spreading globally over the last three years. Nowadays, newly emerging Omicron lineages are gaining substitutions at a fast rate, resulting in escape from neutralization by antibodies that target the Spike protein. Tools to map the impact of substitutions on the further antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2, such as antigenic cartography, may be helpful to update SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. In this review, we focus on the antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2, highlighting the impact of Spike protein substitutions individually and in combination on immune escape.
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