Antigenic cartography of SARS-CoV-2 reveals that Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 are antigenically distinct.

ABSTRACT: The emergence and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants may affect vaccine efficacy substantially. The Omicron variant termed BA.2, which differs substantially from BA.1 based on genetic sequence, is currently replacing BA.1 in several countries, but its antigenic characteristics have not yet been assessed. Here, we used antigenic cartography to quantify and visualize antigenic differences between early SARS-CoV-2 variants (614G, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta, Delta, and Mu) using hamster antisera obtained after primary infection. We first verified that the choice of the cell line for the neutralization assay did not affect the topology of the map substantially. Antigenic maps generated using pseudo-typed SARS-CoV-2 on the widely used VeroE6 cell line and the human airway cell line Calu-3 generat

SUBMITTER: Mykytyn AZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9273038 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature