The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant global morbidity and mortality on a scale similar to the influenza pandemic of 1918. Over the course of the last few months, a number of SARS-CoV-2 variants have been identified against which vaccine-induced immune responses may be less effective. These “variants-of-concern” have garnered significant attention in the media, with discussion around their impact on the future of the pandemic and the ability of leading COVID-19 vaccines to protect against them effectively. To address concerns about emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants affecting vaccine-induced immunity, we investigated the neutralisation of representative ‘G614’, ‘501Y.V1’ and ‘501Y.V2’ virus isolates using sera from ferrets that had received prime-boost doses of the DNA vaccine, INO-4800. Neutralisation titres against G614 and 501Y.V1 were comparable, but titres against the 501Y.V2 variant were approximately 4-fold lower, similar to results reported with other nucleic acid vaccines and supported by in silico biomolecular modelling. The results confirm that the vaccine-induced neutralising antibodies generated by INO-4800 remain effective against current variants-of-concern, albeit with lower neutralisation titres against 501Y.V2 similar to other leading nucleic acid-based vaccines.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, variants, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, DNA vaccine, biomolecular modelling, neutralisation, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19 vaccine, pandemic, Influenza, COVID-19 pandemic, Neutralising Antibodies, variant, SARS-CoV-2 variant, media, in silico, nucleic acid, COVID-19 vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 variants, virus isolate, ferret, 501Y.V1, 501Y.V2, neutralising antibody, immune responses, sera, morbidity and mortality, DNA vaccine, neutralisation, Nucleic acid-based vaccines, dose, Vaccine-induced immunity, INO-4800, titres, titre, ferrets, influenza pandemic, vaccine-induced immune response, over, Neutralisation titres, nucleic acid vaccine, effective, PROTECT, Course, reported, investigated, supported, less, comparable, affecting, neutralisation titre, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, ferret, 501Y.V1,