Cell Reports (Sep 2023)

Light chain of a public SARS-CoV-2 class-3 antibody modulates neutralization against Omicron

  • Anamika Patel,
  • Sanjeev Kumar,
  • Lilin Lai,
  • Meredith Keen,
  • Rajesh Valanparambil,
  • Chennareddy Chakravarthy,
  • Zane Laughlin,
  • Filipp Frank,
  • Narayanaiah Cheedarla,
  • Hans P. Verkerke,
  • Andrew S. Neish,
  • John D. Roback,
  • Carl W. Davis,
  • Jens Wrammert,
  • Amit Sharma,
  • Rafi Ahmed,
  • Mehul S. Suthar,
  • Kaja Murali-Krishna,
  • Anmol Chandele,
  • Eric Ortlund

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 42, no. 9
p. 113150

Abstract

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Summary: The pairing of antibody genes IGHV2-5/IGLV2-14 is established as a public immune response that potently cross-neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron, by targeting class-3/RBD-5 epitopes in the receptor binding domain (RBD). LY-CoV1404 (bebtelovimab) exemplifies this, displaying exceptional potency against Omicron sub-variants up to BA.5. Here, we report a human antibody, 002-S21B10, encoded by the public clonotype IGHV2-5/IGLV2-14. While 002-S21B10 neutralized key SARS-CoV-2 variants, it did not neutralize Omicron, despite sharing >92% sequence similarity with LY-CoV1404. The structure of 002-S21B10 in complex with spike trimer plus structural and sequence comparisons with LY-CoV1404 and other IGHV2-5/IGLV2-14 antibodies revealed significant variations in light-chain orientation, paratope residues, and epitope-paratope interactions that enable some antibodies to neutralize Omicron but not others. Confirming this, replacing the light chain of 002-S21B10 with the light chain of LY-CoV1404 restored 002-S21B10’s binding to Omicron. Understanding such Omicron evasion from public response is vital for guiding therapeutics and vaccine design.

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