PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Xiaoying Shen
AU  - Haili Tang
AU  - Charlene McDanal
AU  - Kshitij Wagh
AU  - Will Fischer
AU  - James Theiler
AU  - Hyejin Yoon
AU  - Barton F. Haynes
AU  - Kevin O. Sanders
AU  - Sandrasegaram Gnanakaran
AU  - Nick Hengartner
AU  - Rolando Pajon
AU  - Gale Smith
AU  - Filip Dubovsky
AU  - Gregory M. Glenn
AU  - Bette Korber
AU  - David C. Montefiori
TI  - SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 is susceptible to neutralizing antibodies elicited by ancestral Spike vaccines
AID  - 10.1101/2021.01.27.428516
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.01.27.428516
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/01/28/2021.01.27.428516.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/01/28/2021.01.27.428516.full
AB  - The SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein mediates virus entry and is a major target for neutralizing antibodies. All current vaccines are based on the ancestral Spike with the goal of generating protective neutralizing antibodies. Several novel SARS-CoV-2 variants with multiple Spike mutations have emerged, and their rapid spread and potential for immune escape have raised concerns. One of these variants, first identified in the United Kingdom, B.1.1.7 (also called VUI202012/01), contains eight Spike mutations with potential to impact antibody therapy, vaccine efficacy and risk of reinfection. Here we employed a lentivirus-based pseudovirus assay to show that variant B.1.1.7 remains sensitive to neutralization, albeit at moderately reduced levels (~2-fold), by serum samples from convalescent individuals and recipients of two different vaccines based on ancestral Spike (mRNA-1273, Moderna, and protein nanoparticle (NVX-CoV2373, Novavax). Some monoclonal antibodies to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of Spike were less effective against the variant while others were largely unaffected. These findings indicate that B.1.1.7 is not a neutralization escape variant that would be a major concern for current vaccines, or for risk of reinfection.Competing Interest StatementRolando Pajon is an employee of Moderna, Inc. Filip, Dubovsky, Gale Smith and Gregory M. Glenn are employees of Novavax, Inc.