Immune evasion, infectivity, and fusogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 and FLip variants

Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 requires the reassessment of current vaccine measures. Here, we characterized BA.2.86 and XBB-derived variant FLip by investigating their neutralization alongside D614G, BA.1, BA.2, BA.4/5, XBB.1.5, and EG.5.1 by sera from 3-dose-vaccinated and bivalent-vaccinated healthcare workers, XBB.1.5-wave-infected first responders, and monoclonal antibody (mAb) S309. We assessed the biology of the variant spikes by measuring viral infectivity and membrane fusogenicity. BA.2.86 is less immune evasive compared to FLip and other XBB variants, consistent with antigenic distances. Importantly, distinct from XBB variants, mAb S309 was unable to neutralize BA.2.86, likely due to a D339H mutation based…

• OS
  Ohio State University

  Award: UL1TR002733
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: U54CA260582, UL1TR002733, KL2TR002734
• NC
  National Cancer Institute

  Awards: U54CA260582, UL1TR002733
• NC
  National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

  Awards: KL2TR002734, UL1TR002733