BNT162b2-Elicited Neutralization of Delta Plus, Lambda, and Other Variants

  1. Jianying Liu
  2. Yang Liu
  3. Hongjie Xia
  4. Jing Zou
  5. Scott C. Weaver
  6. Kena A. Swanson
  7. Hui Cai
  8. Mark Cutler
  9. David Cooper
  10. Alexander Muik
  11. Kathrin U. Jansen
  12. Ugur Sahin
  13. Xuping Xie
  14. Philip R. Dormitzer
  15. Pei-Yong Shi

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Abstract

BNT162b2-elicited human sera are known to neutralize the currently dominant Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant. Here, we report the ability of 20 human sera, drawn 2 or 4 weeks after two doses of BNT162b2, to neutralize USA-WA1/2020 SARS-CoV-2 bearing variant spikes from Delta plus (Delta-AY.1, Delta-AY.2), Delta-Δ144 (Delta with the Y144 deletion of the Alpha variant), Lambda, and B. 1.1.519 lineage viruses. Geometric mean plaque reduction neutralization titers against Delta-AY.1, Delta-AY.2, and Delta-Δ144 viruses are slightly lower than against USA-WA1/2020, but all sera neutralize the variant viruses to titers of ≥80.

Neutralization titers against Lambda and B. 1.1.519 variants and against USA-WA1/2020 are equivalent. The susceptibility of Delta plus, Lambda, and other variants to neutralization by the sera indicates that antigenic change has not led to virus escape from vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies and supports ongoing mass immunization with BNT162b2 to control the variants and to minimize the emergence of new variants.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.09.13.460163: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Ethicsnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Cell Line AuthenticationAuthentication: The authenticity of Vero E6 cells was verified through STR profiling by ATCC.
    Contamination: The cells were tested negative for mycoplasma.

    Table 2: Resources

    Experimental Models: Cell Lines
    SentencesResources
    The full-length viral RNA transcripts were electroporated into Vero E6 cells.
    Vero E6
    suggested: RRID:CVCL_XD71)
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Statistical analysis: Statistical analyses were performed by Graphpad Prism 9 for all experiments as detailed in legends to individual figures.
    Graphpad Prism
    suggested: (GraphPad Prism, RRID:SCR_002798)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    One limitation of this study is the potential for mutations to alter neutralization by affecting spike function rather than antigenicity (e.g., mutation P681R that improves viral replication through enhanced spike processing), despite the variant viruses exhibiting specific infectivities similar to that of the original USA-WA1/2020 virus on Vero E6 cells. Another limitation is that the study focuses only on the effect of spike glycoprotein mutations on neutralization in cell culture. Mutations outside the spike gene may also alter viral replication and/or host immune response. The susceptibility of Delta, Delta plus, Lambda, and other variants to BNT162b2-elicited neutralization indicates that antigenic change does not yet appear to be the major mechanism of increased Delta variant pathogenicity or spread. This finding suggests that changing the strain of the spike glycoprotein encoded by the vaccine may not be the most effective response to the emergence and spread of the Delta variant. Nevertheless, Pfizer and BioNTech are preparing for the possibility that a strain change may someday be necessary by testing prototype, antigenically updated vaccines. The data in this paper support the ongoing BNT162b2 mass immunization strategy to control the variants and to minimize the emergence of new variants. Increasing the vaccination rate in the population, together with implementing public health measures, remains the primary means to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

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  2. Version published to 10.1101/2021.09.13.460163v1 on bioRxiv