npj Vaccines (Jan 2022)

Passive transfer of Ad26.COV2.S-elicited IgG from humans attenuates SARS-CoV-2 disease in hamsters

  • Lisa H. Tostanoski,
  • Abishek Chandrashekar,
  • Shivani Patel,
  • Jingyou Yu,
  • Catherine Jacob-Dolan,
  • Aiquan Chang,
  • Olivia C. Powers,
  • Daniel Sellers,
  • Sarah Gardner,
  • Julia Barrett,
  • Owen Sanborn,
  • Kathryn E. Stephenson,
  • Jessica L. Ansel,
  • Kate Jaegle,
  • Michael S. Seaman,
  • Maciel Porto,
  • Megan Lok,
  • Brittany Spence,
  • Kathleen Cayer,
  • Danielle Nase,
  • Shaikim Holman,
  • Heath Bradette,
  • Swagata Kar,
  • Hanne Andersen,
  • Mark G. Lewis,
  • Freek Cox,
  • Jeroen T. B. M. Tolboom,
  • Anne Marit de Groot,
  • Dirk Heerwegh,
  • Mathieu Le Gars,
  • Jerald Sadoff,
  • Frank Wegmann,
  • Roland C. Zahn,
  • Hanneke Schuitemaker,
  • Dan H. Barouch

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-021-00427-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Abstract SARS-CoV-2 Spike-specific binding and neutralizing antibodies, elicited either by natural infection or vaccination, have emerged as potential correlates of protection. An important question, however, is whether vaccine-elicited antibodies in humans provide direct, functional protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease. In this study, we explored directly the protective efficacy of human antibodies elicited by Ad26.COV2.S vaccination by adoptive transfer studies. IgG from plasma of Ad26.COV2.S vaccinated individuals was purified and transferred into naïve golden Syrian hamster recipients, followed by intra-nasal challenge of the hamsters with SARS-CoV-2. IgG purified from Ad26.COV2.S-vaccinated individuals provided dose-dependent protection in the recipient hamsters from weight loss following challenge. In contrast, IgG purified from placebo recipients provided no protection in this adoptive transfer model. Attenuation of weight loss correlated with binding and neutralizing antibody titers of the passively transferred IgG. This study suggests that Ad26.COV2.S-elicited antibodies in humans are mechanistically involved in protection against SARS-CoV-2.