Cross-reactive Antibody Response between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV Infections

Huibin Lv; Nicholas C. Wu; Owen Tak-Yin Tsang; Meng Yuan; Ranawaka A.P.M. Perera; Wai Shing Leung; Ray T.Y. So; Jacky Man Chun Chan; Garrick K. Yip; Thomas Shiu Hong Chik; Yiquan Wang; Chris Yau Chung Choi; Yihan Lin; Wilson W. Ng; Jincun Zhao; Leo L.M. Poon; J.S. Malik Peiris; Ian A. Wilson; Chris K.P. Mok

Cross-reactive Antibody Response between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV Infections

2020

Summary: The World Health Organization has declared the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, which is caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, a pandemic. There is currently a lack of knowledge about the antibody response elicited from SARS-CoV-2 infection. One major immunological question concerns antigenic differences between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV. We address this question by analyzing plasma from patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-CoV and from infected or immunized mice. Our results show that, although cross-reactivity in antibody binding to the spike protein is common, cross-neutralization of the live viruses may be rare, indicating the presence of a non-neutralizing antibody response to conserved epitopes in the spike. Whether such low or non-neutralizing antibody response leads to antibody-dependent disease enhancement needs to be addressed in the future. Overall, this study not only addresses a fundamental question regarding antigenicity differences between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV but also has implications for immunogen design and vaccine development.

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