Cell Reports (Jul 2024)

Variant-specific antibody response following repeated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection

  • Xiao-Lin Jiang,
  • Xue-Dong Song,
  • Chao Shi,
  • Guo-Jian Yang,
  • Xue-Jun Wang,
  • Yu-Wei Zhang,
  • Jie Wu,
  • Lian-Xiang Zhao,
  • Ming-Zhu Zhang,
  • Ming-Ming Wang,
  • Rui-Rui Chen,
  • Xue-Juan He,
  • Er-Hei Dai,
  • Hui-Xia Gao,
  • Yuan Shen,
  • Gang Dong,
  • Yu-Ling Wang,
  • Mai-Juan Ma

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 43, no. 7
p. 114387

Abstract

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Summary: The ongoing emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants poses challenges to the immunity induced by infections and vaccination. We conduct a 6-month longitudinal evaluation of antibody binding and neutralization of sera from individuals with six different combinations of vaccination and infection against BA.5, XBB.1.5, EG.5.1, and BA.2.86. We find that most individuals produce spike-binding IgG or neutralizing antibodies against BA.5, XBB.1.5, EG.5.1, and BA.2.86 2 months after infection or vaccination. However, compared to ancestral strain and BA.5 variant, XBB.1.5, EG.5.1, and BA.2.86 exhibit comparable but significant immune evasion. The spike-binding IgG and neutralizing antibody titers decrease in individuals without additional antigen exposure, and <50% of individuals neutralize XBB.1.5, EG.5.1, and BA.2.86 during the 6-month follow-up. Approximately 57% of the 107 followed up individuals experienced an additional infection, leading to improved binding IgG and neutralizing antibody levels against these variants. These findings provide insights into the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on immunity following repeated exposure.

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