Neutralization against Omicron SARS-CoV-2 from previous non-Omicron infection

 Jing Zou, Hongjie Xia, Xuping Xie, Chaitanya Kurhade, Rafael R. G. Machado, Scott C. Weaver, Ping Ren, Pei-Yong Shi

doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.20.473584

This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [what does this mean?].

PDF: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.20.473584v1.full.pdf

Abstract

The explosive spread of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant underscores the importance of analyzing the cross-protection from previous non-Omicron infection. We developed a high-throughput neutralization assay for Omicron SARS-CoV-2 by engineering the Omicron spike gene into an mNeonGreen USA-WA1/2020 SARS-CoV-2 (isolated in January 2020). Using this assay, we determined the neutralization titers of patient sera collected at 1- or 6-months after infection with non-Omicron SARS-CoV-2. From 1- to 6-month post-infection, the neutralization titers against USA-WA1/2020 decreased from 601 to 142 (a 4.2-fold reduction), while the neutralization titers against Omicron-spike SARS-CoV-2 remained low at 38 and 32, respectively. Thus, at 1- and 6-months after non-Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infection, the neutralization titers against Omicron were 15.8- and 4.4-fold lower than those against USA-WA1/2020, respectively. The low cross-neutralization against Omicron from previous non-Omicron infection supports vaccination of formerly infected individuals to mitigate the health impact of the ongoing Omicron surge.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.20.473584v1