eLife (Nov 2021)

Cross-reactive antibodies after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination

  • Marloes Grobben,
  • Karlijn van der Straten,
  • Philip JM Brouwer,
  • Mitch Brinkkemper,
  • Pauline Maisonnasse,
  • Nathalie Dereuddre-Bosquet,
  • Brent Appelman,
  • AH Ayesha Lavell,
  • Lonneke A van Vught,
  • Judith A Burger,
  • Meliawati Poniman,
  • Melissa Oomen,
  • Dirk Eggink,
  • Tom PL Bijl,
  • Hugo DG van Willigen,
  • Elke Wynberg,
  • Bas J Verkaik,
  • Orlane JA Figaroa,
  • Peter J de Vries,
  • Tessel M Boertien,
  • Amsterdam UMC COVID-19 S3/HCW study group,
  • Marije K Bomers,
  • Jonne J Sikkens,
  • Roger Le Grand,
  • Menno D de Jong,
  • Maria Prins,
  • Amy W Chung,
  • Godelieve J de Bree,
  • Rogier W Sanders,
  • Marit J van Gils

DOI
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.70330
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

Read online

Current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are losing efficacy against emerging variants and may not protect against future novel coronavirus outbreaks, emphasizing the need for more broadly protective vaccines. To inform the development of a pan-coronavirus vaccine, we investigated the presence and specificity of cross-reactive antibodies against the spike (S) proteins of human coronaviruses (hCoV) after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. We found an 11- to 123-fold increase in antibodies binding to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV as well as a 2- to 4-fold difference in antibodies binding to seasonal hCoVs in COVID-19 convalescent sera compared to pre-pandemic healthy donors, with the S2 subdomain of the S protein being the main target for cross-reactivity. In addition, we detected cross-reactive antibodies to all hCoV S proteins after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in macaques and humans, with higher responses for hCoV more closely related to SARS-CoV-2. These findings support the feasibility of and provide guidance for development of a pan-coronavirus vaccine.

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