SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants evolved to promote further escape from MHC-I recognition

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) possess mutations that confer resistance to neutralizing antibodies within the Spike protein and are associated with breakthrough infection and reinfection. By contrast, less is known about the escape from CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity by VOC. Here, we demonstrated that all SARS-CoV-2 VOCs possess the ability to suppress MHC I expression. We identified several viral genes that contribute to the suppression of MHC I expression. Notably, MHC-I upregulation was strongly inhibited after SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo. While earlier VOCs possess similar capacity as the ancestral strain to suppress MHC I, Omicron subvariants exhibit a greater ability to suppress surface MHC-I expressions. Collectively, our data suggest that, in addition to escape from neutralizing antibodies, the success of Omicron subvariants to cause breakthrough infection and reinfection may in part be due to its optimized evasion from T cell recognition. SignificanceNumerous pathogenic viruses have developed strategies to evade host CD8+ T cell-mediated clearance. Here, we demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 encodes multiple viral factors that can modulate MHC-I expression in the host cells. We found that MHC-I upregulation was strongly suppressed during SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo. Notably, the Omicron subvariants showed an enhanced ability to suppress MHC-I compared to the original strain and the earlier SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs). Our results point to the inherently strong ability of SARS-CoV-2 to hinder MHC-I expression and demonstrated that Omicron subvariants have evolved an even more optimized capacity to evade CD8 T cell recognition.