Researchers characterized two novel SARS-CoV-2 XBB variants, EG.5.1 and XBB.2.3.
By Neha MathurSep 4 2023Reviewed by Sophia Coveney In a recent preprint posted to the bioRxiv* server, researchers characterized two novel XBB variants, EG.5.1 and XBB.2.3, with the former on track to become the dominant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variant.
All XBB variants, including XBB.2.3 and EG.5.1, exhibited higher immune evasion capabilities than Omicron, in particular against neutralizing antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 convalescence and coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines based on the messenger ribonucleic acid technology. Some methods of counteracting immune imprinting include administering extra doses of Omicron S-based mRNA vaccines or exposure to Omicron infection. Nonetheless, there is a need to reconfigure current COVID-19 mRNA vaccination approaches.
Results As expected, bivalent mRNA vaccination elicited relatively low nAb titers against all XBB variants, especially EG.5.1 and XBB.2.3, than D614G and Omicron BA.4/5 despite the presence of BA.4/5 S in this vaccine formulation. Molecular modeling demonstrated that F456L did not impact S-binding to S309 but likely decreased S-binding to class 1 SARS-CoV-2 mAbs, S2E12, consistent with the findings from recent studies.
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