Comparative Analysis of Host Cell Entry Efficiency and Neutralization Sensitivity of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Lineages KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1

New SARS-CoV-2 lineages continue to evolve and may exhibit new characteristics regarding host cell entry efficiency and potential for antibody evasion. Here, employing pseudotyped particles, we compared the host cell entry efficiency, ACE2 receptor usage, and sensitivity to antibody-mediated neutral...

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Main Authors: Nianzhen Chen, Katharina Emma Decker, Sebastian R. Schulz, Amy Kempf, Inga Nehlmeier, Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer, Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka, Georg M. N. Behrens, Metodi V. Stankov, Luis Manthey, Hans-Martin Jäck, Markus Hoffmann, Stefan Pöhlmann, Prerna Arora
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Vaccines
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/11/1236
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author Nianzhen Chen
Katharina Emma Decker
Sebastian R. Schulz
Amy Kempf
Inga Nehlmeier
Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer
Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka
Georg M. N. Behrens
Metodi V. Stankov
Luis Manthey
Hans-Martin Jäck
Markus Hoffmann
Stefan Pöhlmann
Prerna Arora
author_facet Nianzhen Chen
Katharina Emma Decker
Sebastian R. Schulz
Amy Kempf
Inga Nehlmeier
Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer
Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka
Georg M. N. Behrens
Metodi V. Stankov
Luis Manthey
Hans-Martin Jäck
Markus Hoffmann
Stefan Pöhlmann
Prerna Arora
author_sort Nianzhen Chen
collection DOAJ
description New SARS-CoV-2 lineages continue to evolve and may exhibit new characteristics regarding host cell entry efficiency and potential for antibody evasion. Here, employing pseudotyped particles, we compared the host cell entry efficiency, ACE2 receptor usage, and sensitivity to antibody-mediated neutralization of four emerging SARS-CoV-2 lineages, KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1. The XBB.1.5 and JN.1 lineages served as controls. Our findings reveal that KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1 lineages enter host cells efficiently and in an ACE2-dependent manner, and that KP.3 is more adept at entering Calu-3 lung cells than JN.1. However, the variants differed in their capacity to employ ACE2 orthologues from animal species for entry, suggesting differences in ACE2 interactions. Moreover, we demonstrate that only two out of seven therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAbs) in preclinical development retain robust neutralizing activity against the emerging JN.1 sublineages tested, while three mAbs displayed strongly reduced neutralizing activity and two mAbs lacked neutralizing activity against any of the lineages tested. Furthermore, our results show that KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1 lineages evade neutralization by antibodies induced by infection or vaccination with greater efficiency than JN.1, particularly in individuals without hybrid immunity. This study indicates that KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1 differ in ACE2 interactions and the efficiency of lung cell entry and suggest that evasion of neutralizing antibodies drove the emergence of these variants.
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spelling doaj-art-0c55e3d4b4ff40df90a59f5934cc15f52025-08-20T02:27:40ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2024-10-011211123610.3390/vaccines12111236Comparative Analysis of Host Cell Entry Efficiency and Neutralization Sensitivity of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Lineages KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1Nianzhen Chen0Katharina Emma Decker1Sebastian R. Schulz2Amy Kempf3Inga Nehlmeier4Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer5Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka6Georg M. N. Behrens7Metodi V. Stankov8Luis Manthey9Hans-Martin Jäck10Markus Hoffmann11Stefan Pöhlmann12Prerna Arora13Infection Biology Unit, German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyDivision of Molecular Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine 3, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDivision of Molecular Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine 3, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyInfection Biology Unit, German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyNew SARS-CoV-2 lineages continue to evolve and may exhibit new characteristics regarding host cell entry efficiency and potential for antibody evasion. Here, employing pseudotyped particles, we compared the host cell entry efficiency, ACE2 receptor usage, and sensitivity to antibody-mediated neutralization of four emerging SARS-CoV-2 lineages, KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1. The XBB.1.5 and JN.1 lineages served as controls. Our findings reveal that KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1 lineages enter host cells efficiently and in an ACE2-dependent manner, and that KP.3 is more adept at entering Calu-3 lung cells than JN.1. However, the variants differed in their capacity to employ ACE2 orthologues from animal species for entry, suggesting differences in ACE2 interactions. Moreover, we demonstrate that only two out of seven therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAbs) in preclinical development retain robust neutralizing activity against the emerging JN.1 sublineages tested, while three mAbs displayed strongly reduced neutralizing activity and two mAbs lacked neutralizing activity against any of the lineages tested. Furthermore, our results show that KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1 lineages evade neutralization by antibodies induced by infection or vaccination with greater efficiency than JN.1, particularly in individuals without hybrid immunity. This study indicates that KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1 differ in ACE2 interactions and the efficiency of lung cell entry and suggest that evasion of neutralizing antibodies drove the emergence of these variants.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/11/1236SARS-CoV-2 lineagesACE2 receptor interactionsantibody evasion
spellingShingle Nianzhen Chen
Katharina Emma Decker
Sebastian R. Schulz
Amy Kempf
Inga Nehlmeier
Anna-Sophie Moldenhauer
Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka
Georg M. N. Behrens
Metodi V. Stankov
Luis Manthey
Hans-Martin Jäck
Markus Hoffmann
Stefan Pöhlmann
Prerna Arora
Comparative Analysis of Host Cell Entry Efficiency and Neutralization Sensitivity of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Lineages KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1
Vaccines
SARS-CoV-2 lineages
ACE2 receptor interactions
antibody evasion
title Comparative Analysis of Host Cell Entry Efficiency and Neutralization Sensitivity of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Lineages KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1
title_full Comparative Analysis of Host Cell Entry Efficiency and Neutralization Sensitivity of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Lineages KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1
title_fullStr Comparative Analysis of Host Cell Entry Efficiency and Neutralization Sensitivity of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Lineages KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1
title_full_unstemmed Comparative Analysis of Host Cell Entry Efficiency and Neutralization Sensitivity of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Lineages KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1
title_short Comparative Analysis of Host Cell Entry Efficiency and Neutralization Sensitivity of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Lineages KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3, and LB.1
title_sort comparative analysis of host cell entry efficiency and neutralization sensitivity of emerging sars cov 2 lineages kp 2 kp 2 3 kp 3 and lb 1
topic SARS-CoV-2 lineages
ACE2 receptor interactions
antibody evasion
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/12/11/1236
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