Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, development of numerous vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, and antiviral medications have all contributed to a reduction in the pandemic's trajectory. The ongoing emergence of new viral variants with improved transmissibility and immunological fitness, has emphasized the need for broad-spectrum therapeutic and preventive approaches capable of neutralizing a variety of viral variants.
While most previously developed monoclonal therapeutic antibodies work by preventing the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), targeting epitopes in the receptor-binding motif (RBM) of the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD), the recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant contains more than 15 mutations in the spike RBD, which makes the variant highly resistant to monoclonal as well as vaccine-induced antibodies.
To better manage the pandemic, it is vital to develop broadly neutralizing antibodies against immune evasive variants like omicron. The study, published in the journal Science Immunology, describes the identification and therapeutic evaluation of a monoclonal antibody with broad neutralizing efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the alpha, beta, delta, and omicron variants.
In this study, a performed virus neutralization assay identified seven antibodies with high neutralizing efficiency against the Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2. Of these antibodies, one (SW186) showed the optimal neutralizing efficiency against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and its variants at nanomolar concentrations. However, the antibody showed significantly reduced neutralizing efficiency against omicron and its sub-variants.
Notably, the SW186 antibody showed high neutralizing efficiency against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1), a betacoronavirus responsible for the 2002-2004 outbreak of SARS. This finding indicates that the SW186 antibody targets an epitope highly conserved between SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2.
Evaluation of the neutralizing efficiency of a panel of humanized antibodies against alpha, beta, and delta variants revealed that most of these humanized antibodies neutralize the tested variants with similar efficacy as the murine SW186 antibody.
The study identifies a broad-spectrum monoclonal antibody (SW186) that efficiently neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and SARS-CoV-1. The scientists believe that the conserved RBD epitope targeted by SW186 antibody should be considered in future studies for developing novel therapeutic antibodies.
As the WHO and CDC continue to closely monitor variances, as well as conduct independent and comparative analyses of the different corona viruses, Verséa Holdings will continue to provide the best available SARS -CoV-2 diagnostics tests.
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