SARS-CoV-2 variants with reduced infectivity and varied sensitivity to the BNT162b2 vaccine are developed during the course of infection

Dina Khateeb, Tslil Gabrieli, Bar Sofer, Adi Hattar, Sapir Cordela, Abigael Chaouat, Ilia Spivak, Izabella Lejbkowicz, Ronit Almog, Michal Mandelboim, Yotam Bar-On

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In-depth analysis of SARS-CoV-2 quasispecies is pivotal for a thorough understating of its evolution during infection. The recent deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, which elicit protective anti-spike neutralizing antibodies, has stressed the importance of uncovering and characterizing SARS-CoV-2 variants with mutated spike proteins. Sequencing databases have allowed to follow the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants that are circulating in the human population, and several experimental platforms were developed to study these variants. However, less is known about the SARS-CoV-2 variants that are developed in the respiratory system of the infected individual. To gain further insight on SARS-CoV-2 mutagenesis during natural infection, we preformed single-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 isolated from nose-throat swabs of infected individuals. Interestingly, intra-host SARS-CoV-2 variants with mutated S genes or N genes were detected in all individuals who were analyzed. These intra-host variants were present in low frequencies in the swab samples and were rarely documented in current sequencing databases. Further examination of representative spike variants identified by our analysis showed that these variants have impaired infectivity capacity and that the mutated variants showed varied sensitivity to neutralization by convalescent plasma and to plasma from vaccinated individuals. Notably, analysis of the plasma neutralization activity against these variants showed that the L1197I mutation at the S2 subunit of the spike can affect the plasma neutralization activity. Together, these results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 intra-host variants should be further analyzed for a more thorough characterization of potential circulating variants.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere1010242
JournalPLoS Pathogens
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Khateeb et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Parasitology
  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Virology

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