Serum samples from 12 individuals in Argentina who received two doses of the Gamaleya Sputnik V vaccine indicate that the vaccine is effective at neutralising the Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2, but is not as effective against the Beta variant, reports MedicalBrief.
According to the research, published in Nature Communications, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has caused concern because it is not known how resistant they may be to current vaccines. The Sputnik V vaccine has a reported efficacy of 91.6% after phase III clinical trials from 7 September–24 November 2020, and is now in use in a number of countries besides Russia, including Argentina, Mexico and Hungary.
However, many variants of concern, such as Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Beta (B.1.351), were not present in Russia during the trial period and it is not known what the neutralising effect of Sputnik V might be against these variants.
To investigate the effectiveness of the Sputnik V vaccine, Benhur Lee and colleagues used recombinant viruses carrying the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutations found in the Alpha and Beta variants or only the E484K spike mutation (present in a number of variants of concern). They analysed 12 serum samples from recipients of the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina one month after they had completed a two-dose regime.
They found that the sera showed effective neutralisation against the Alpha variant; moderately reduced activity against the E484K mutation alone, and markedly reduced activity against the Beta variant. When extrapolating to full serum strength, only one of the samples showed effective neutralisation against the Beta variant.
The authors note that while analysis of a larger sample size is warranted, the ability of the Beta variant and the E484K mutation to escape antibody neutralisation in the samples analysed suggests the control of some emergent variants may benefit from updated vaccines.
Study details
Neutralizing activity of Sputnik V vaccine sera against SARS-CoV-2 variants
Satoshi Ikegame, Mohammed N. A. Siddiquey, Chuan-Tien Hung, Griffin Haas, Luca Brambilla, Kasopefoluwa Y. Oguntuyo, Shreyas Kowdle, Hsin-Ping Chiu, Christian S. Stevens, Ariel Esteban Vilardo, Alexis Edelstein, Claudia Perandones, Jeremy P. Kamil, Benhur Lee
Published in Nature Communications on 26 July 2021
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected at least 180 million people since its identification as the cause of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid pace of vaccine development has resulted in multiple vaccines already in use worldwide.
The contemporaneous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 ‘variants of concern’ (VOC) across diverse geographic locales underscores the need to monitor the efficacy of vaccines being administered globally. All WHO designated VOC carry spike (S) polymorphisms thought to enable escape from neutralizing antibodies.
Here, we characterise the neutralizing activity of post-Sputnik V vaccination sera against the ensemble of S mutations present in alpha (B.1.1.7) and beta (B.1.351) VOC. Using de novo generated replication-competent vesicular stomatitis virus expressing various SARS-CoV-2-S in place of VSV-G (rcVSV-CoV2-S), coupled with a clonal 293T-ACE2 + TMPRSS2 + cell line optimised for highly efficient S-mediated infection, we determine that only 1 out of 12 post-vaccination serum samples shows effective neutralization (IC90) of rcVSV-CoV2-S: B.1.351 at full serum strength.
The same set of sera efficiently neutralize S from B.1.1.7 and exhibit only moderately reduced activity against S carrying the E484K substitution alone. Taken together, our data suggest that control of some emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants may benefit from updated vaccines.
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