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Author Spotlight: A Pseudotype Virus System for Assessing Omicron Subvariants and Neutralizing Antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 Research
Published on: September 8, 2023
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Measuring Variant-Specific Neutralizing Antibody Profiles after Bivalent SARS-CoV-2 Vaccinations Using a Multivariant
David Niklas Springer1, Eva Höltl2, Katja Prüger1
1Center for Virology, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
Vaccines
|January 22, 2024
Summary
A new surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) accurately measures neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron subvariants. This method offers a faster alternative to traditional tests for assessing vaccine effectiveness after bivalent boosters.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Virology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Antibody neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants differs based on vaccination and infection history.
- Assessing neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) typically requires time-consuming live-virus neutralization tests (NTs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel multivariant surrogate-virus neutralization test (sVNT) for assessing neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
- To compare sVNT performance against live-virus NTs following bivalent Omicron-adapted vaccine boosters.
Main Methods:
- Adapted a commercial microarray-based sVNT to quantify antibody inhibition between ACE2 and variant-specific RBDs.
- Correlated sVNT inhibition levels with live-virus NT titers against wild-type, Delta, Omicron BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5.
Main Results:
- Significant correlation found between variant-specific NT titers and ACE2-RBD binding inhibition (p < 0.0001, r ≤ 0.78).
- sVNT detected higher inhibition against Omicron BA.5 and BA.1 in individuals boosted with Omicron-adapted vaccines compared to monovalent wild-type vaccines.
Conclusions:
- The sVNT effectively detects variant-specific neutralizing antibodies after bivalent vaccination.
- This sVNT offers a viable alternative to laborious live-virus NTs for assessing immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants.
