SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/BA.5 Mutations in Spike Leading to T Cell Escape in Recently Vaccinated Individuals.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) lineages rapidly became dominant in various countries reflecting its enhanced transmissibility and ability to escape neutralizing antibodies. Although T cells induced by ancestral SARS-CoV-2-based vaccines also recognize Omicron variants, we showed in our previous study that there was a marked loss of T cell cross-reactivity to spike epitopes harboring Omicron BA.1 mutations. The emerging BA.4/BA.5 subvariants carry other spike mutations than the BA.1 variant. The present study aims to investigate the impact of BA.4/BA.5 spike mutations on T cell cross-reactivity at the epitope level. Here, we focused on universal T-helper epitopes predicted to be presented by multiple common HLA class II molecules for broad population coverage. Fifteen universal T-helper epi

SUBMITTER: Emmelot ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9863717 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature