RBD mutations at the residues K417, E484, N501 reduced immunoreactivity with antisera from vaccinated and COVID-19 recovered patients

Dablu Lal Gupta; Jhasketan Meher; Anjan Kumar Giri; Arvind Kumar Shukla; Eli Mohapatra; Manisha M Ruikar; DN Rao

doi:10.33393/dti.2024.3059

Authors

Dablu Lal Gupta Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, Chhattisgarh - India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4394-5138
Jhasketan Meher Department of General Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, Chhattisgarh - India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5095-3198
Anjan Kumar Giri Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, Chhattisgarh - India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0365-5518
Arvind Kumar Shukla Department of Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, Chhattisgarh - India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8336-6830
Eli Mohapatra Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, Chhattisgarh - India
Manisha M Ruikar Department of Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, Chhattisgarh - India
DN Rao Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi - India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33393/dti.2024.3059

Keywords:

Antibodies, COVID-19, Immune escape, Immunoreactivity, Mutation, SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Introduction: It is unclear whether induced spike protein-specific antibodies due to infections with SARS-CoV-2 or to the prototypic Wuhan isolate-based vaccination can immune-react with the emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Aim/objectives: The main objective of the study was to measure the immunoreactivity of induced antibodies postvaccination with Covishield™ (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 coronavirus vaccines) or infections with SARS-CoV-2 by using selected peptides of the spike protein of wild type and variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Methodology: Thirty patients who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infections and 30 individuals vaccinated with both doses of Covishield™ were recruited for the study. Venous blood samples (5 mL) were collected at a single time point from patients within 3-4 weeks of recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infections or receiving both doses of Covishield™ vaccines. The serum levels of total immunoglobulin were measured in both study groups. A total of 12 peptides of 10 to 24 amino acids length spanning to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of wild type of SARS-CoV-2 and their variants were synthesized. The serum levels of immune-reactive antibodies were measured using these peptides.

Results: The serum levels of total antibodies were found to be significantly (p<0.001) higher in the vaccinated individuals as compared to COVID-19 recovered patients. Our study reported that the mutations in the RBD at the residues K417, E484, and N501 have been associated with reduced immunoreactivity with anti-sera of vaccinated people and COVID-19 recovered patients.

Conclusion: The amino acid substitutions at the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 have been associated with a higher potential to escape the humoral immune response.

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