Lack of cross-neutralization by SARS patient sera towards SARS-CoV-2

Danielle E Anderson; Chee Wah Tan; Wan Ni Chia; Barnaby E Young; Martin Linster; JennyG H Low; Yee-Joo Tan; Mark I-C Chen; Gavin J D Smith; Yee Sin Leo; David C Lye; Lin-Fa Wang

doi:10.1080/22221751.2020.1761267

Lack of cross-neutralization by SARS patient sera towards SARS-CoV-2

Emerg Microbes Infect. 2020 Dec;9(1):900-902. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1761267.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
² National Center for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, Singapore.
³ Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
⁴ National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.

Abstract

Despite initial findings indicating that SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 are genetically related belonging to the same virus species and that the two viruses used the same entry receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), our data demonstrated that there is no detectable cross-neutralization by SARS patient sera against SARS-CoV-2. We also found that there are significant levels of neutralizing antibodies in recovered SARS patients 9-17 years after initial infection. These findings will be of significant use in guiding the development of serologic tests, formulating convalescent plasma therapy strategies, and assessing the longevity of protective immunity for SARS-related coronaviruses in general as well as vaccine efficacy.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS; SARS-CoV-2; antibody; cross-neutralization.

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Viral / blood*
Betacoronavirus / immunology
Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies / immunology
COVID-19
COVID-19 Serotherapy
Coronavirus Infections / immunology*
Coronavirus Infections / therapy
Humans
Immunization, Passive / standards
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / immunology*
SARS-CoV-2
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / immunology*
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / immunology*
Time Factors
Viral Vaccines / standards

Substances

Antibodies, Viral
Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies
Viral Vaccines

Grants and funding

This study was jointly supported by grants from the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF2016NRF-NSFC002-013), and the National Medical Research Council of the Ministry of Health Singapore (CCGSFPOR20001, STPRG-FY19-001 and COVID19RF-003).