Distinct sensitivities to SARS-CoV-2 variants in vaccinated humans and mice

Walls, A. C.; VanBlargan, L. A.; Wu, K.; Choi, A.; Navarro, M. J.; Lee, D.; Avena, L.; Berrueta, D. M.; Pham, M. N.; Elbashir, S.; Miranda, M. C.; Kepl, E.; Johnson, M.; Blackstone, A.; Sprouse, K. R.; Fiala, B.; O'Connor, M. A.; Brunette, N.; S Arunachalam, P.; Shirreff, L.; Rogers, K. A.; Carter, L.; Fuller, D. H.; Villinger, F. J.; Pulendran, B.; Diamond, M. S.; Edwards, D. K.; King, N. P.; Veesler, D.

doi:10.1101/2022.02.07.479468

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.02.07.479468

Distinct sensitivities to SARS-CoV-2 variants in vaccinated humans and mice

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Abstract

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 has led to the development of a large number of vaccines, several of which are now approved for use in humans. Understanding vaccine-elicited antibody responses against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) in real time is key to inform public health policies. Serum neutralizing antibody titers are the current best correlate of protection from SARS-CoV-2 challenge in non-human primates and a key metric to understand immune evasion of VOC. We report that vaccinated BALB/c mice do not recapitulate faithfully the breadth and potency of neutralizing antibody responses against VOC, as compared to non-human primates or humans, suggesting caution should be exercised when interpreting data for this animal model.

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Walls, A. C., VanBlargan, L. A., Wu, K., Choi, A., Navarro, M. J., Lee, D., Avena, L., Berrueta, D. M., Pham, M. N., Elbashir, S., Miranda, M. C., Kepl, E., Johnson, M., Blackstone, A., Sprouse, K. R., Fiala, B., O'Connor, M. A., Brunette, N., S Arunachalam, P., Shirreff, L., Rogers, K. A., Carter, L., Fuller, D. H., Villinger, F. J., Pulendran, B., Diamond, M. S., Edwards, D. K., King, N. P., Veesler, D.. 2022-02-09. Distinct sensitivities to SARS-CoV-2 variants in vaccinated humans and mice. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.07.479468

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