Differential Patterns of Cross-Protection against Antigenically Distinct Variants in Small Animal Models of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Abstract

Continuous evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) will likely force more future updates of vaccine composition. Based on a series of studies carried out in human ACE2 transgenic mice (K18-hACE2) and Syrian hamsters, we show that immunity at the respiratory tract, acquired through either previous infection or vaccination with an in-house live attenuate virus, offers protection against antigenically distinct variants in the absence of variant spike-specific neutralizing antibodies. Interestingly, immunity acquired through infection of a modern variant (XBB.1.5) was insufficient in preventing brain infection by the ancestral virus (WA1/2020) in K18-hACE2 mice. Similarly, previous infection with WA1/2020 did not protect against brain infection by XBB.1.5. Our results highlight the importance of immune components other than neutralizing antibodies in maintaining protection against new variants in the respiratory tract, but also paint scenarios where a monovalent vaccine based on a contemporary variant may be less effective against the ancestral strain. ImportanceMany studies have assessed the cross neutralization of various SARS-CoV-2 variants induced by breakthrough infections or vaccine boosters. Few studies, however, have modeled a more severe type of breakthrough infection. Here, we show that immunity acquired through a previous infection by either a historical virus (WA1/2020) or a contemporary variant (XBB.1.5) failed to protect against brain infection of K18-hACE2 mice by an antigenically distinct virus, although it largely protected the respiratory tract. Our results provided a potential model to investigate the role of different immune components in curbing SARS-CoV-2 infection.