Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Increased lung cell entry of B.1.617.2 and evasion of antibodies induced by infection and BNT162b2 vaccination

Prerna Arora, Amy Kempf, Inga Nehlmeier, Anzhalika Sidarovich, View ORCID ProfileNadine Krüger, Luise Graichen, Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer, Martin S. Winkler, Sebastian Schulz, Hans-Martin Jäck, Metodi V. Stankov, Georg M. N. Behrens, View ORCID ProfileStefan Pöhlmann, View ORCID ProfileMarkus Hoffmann
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.23.449568
Prerna Arora
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Amy Kempf
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Inga Nehlmeier
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Anzhalika Sidarovich
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Nadine Krüger
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Nadine Krüger
Luise Graichen
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Martin S. Winkler
3Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Göttingen Medical Center, Göttingen, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sebastian Schulz
4Division of Molecular Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine 3, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Glückstraße 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hans-Martin Jäck
4Division of Molecular Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine 3, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Glückstraße 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Metodi V. Stankov
5Department for Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Georg M. N. Behrens
5Department for Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stefan Pöhlmann
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Stefan Pöhlmann
Markus Hoffmann
1Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Markus Hoffmann
  • For correspondence: mhoffmann@dpz.eu
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

SUMMARY

The delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, B.1.617.2, emerged in India and has subsequently spread to over 80 countries. B.1.617.2 rapidly replaced B.1.1.7 as the dominant virus in the United Kingdom, resulting in a steep increase in new infections, and a similar development is expected for other countries. Effective countermeasures require information on susceptibility of B.1.617.2 to control by antibodies elicited by vaccines and used for COVID-19 therapy. We show, using pseudotyping, that B.1.617.2 evades control by antibodies induced upon infection and BNT162b2 vaccination, although with lower efficiency as compared to B.1.351. Further, we found that B.1.617.2 is resistant against Bamlanivimab, a monoclonal antibody with emergency use authorization for COVID-19 therapy. Finally, we show increased Calu-3-lung cell entry and enhanced cell-to-cell fusion of B.1.617.2, which may contribute to augmented transmissibility and pathogenicity of this variant. These results identify B.1.617.2 as an immune evasion variant with increased capacity to enter and fuse lung cells.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • ↵* E-mail: mhoffmann{at}dpz.eu (M.H.), spoehlmann{at}dpz.eu (S.P.)

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted June 23, 2021.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Increased lung cell entry of B.1.617.2 and evasion of antibodies induced by infection and BNT162b2 vaccination
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Increased lung cell entry of B.1.617.2 and evasion of antibodies induced by infection and BNT162b2 vaccination
Prerna Arora, Amy Kempf, Inga Nehlmeier, Anzhalika Sidarovich, Nadine Krüger, Luise Graichen, Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer, Martin S. Winkler, Sebastian Schulz, Hans-Martin Jäck, Metodi V. Stankov, Georg M. N. Behrens, Stefan Pöhlmann, Markus Hoffmann
bioRxiv 2021.06.23.449568; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.23.449568
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Increased lung cell entry of B.1.617.2 and evasion of antibodies induced by infection and BNT162b2 vaccination
Prerna Arora, Amy Kempf, Inga Nehlmeier, Anzhalika Sidarovich, Nadine Krüger, Luise Graichen, Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer, Martin S. Winkler, Sebastian Schulz, Hans-Martin Jäck, Metodi V. Stankov, Georg M. N. Behrens, Stefan Pöhlmann, Markus Hoffmann
bioRxiv 2021.06.23.449568; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.23.449568

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Molecular Biology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3602)
  • Biochemistry (7570)
  • Bioengineering (5524)
  • Bioinformatics (20792)
  • Biophysics (10329)
  • Cancer Biology (7984)
  • Cell Biology (11640)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6603)
  • Ecology (10202)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13617)
  • Genetics (9541)
  • Genomics (12847)
  • Immunology (7921)
  • Microbiology (19541)
  • Molecular Biology (7658)
  • Neuroscience (42097)
  • Paleontology (308)
  • Pathology (1258)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2202)
  • Physiology (3267)
  • Plant Biology (7041)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1294)
  • Synthetic Biology (1951)
  • Systems Biology (5426)
  • Zoology (1117)