A groundbreaking study reveals that recently discovered antibodies have the capability to neutralize almost all known variants of COVID-19, raising hopes of preventing future coronavirus outbreaks.
An international team of scientists, led by Duke-NUS Medical School, collaborated with researchers from the National University of Singapore, the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the United States to conduct the study. They isolated potent neutralizing antibodies from a recovered SARS patient who had also been vaccinated against COVID-19. These antibodies showed a remarkable ability to target sarbecoviruses, which include respiratory viruses like SARS and COVID-19.
The researchers found that the combination of prior coronavirus infection and vaccination resulted in an “extremely broad and powerful” antibody response. This combination showed effectiveness against nearly all related coronaviruses tested.
Senior author Wang Linfa, a professor and bat virus expert with Duke-NUS’ Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, expressed optimism about the findings, suggesting that pan-coronavirus vaccines could be possible by “educating” the human immune system in the right way.
The team successfully obtained six antibodies capable of neutralizing multiple coronaviruses, including COVID-19 and its variants (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron), as well as other animal coronaviruses transmitted from bats and pangolins.
Among these antibodies, three stood out as exceptionally potent and broad, exhibiting the ability to neutralize all tested SARS-related viruses at very low concentrations. The most powerful antibody, named E7, demonstrated its efficacy against SARS, COVID-19, animal sarbecoviruses, and even new COVID-19 variants such as Omicron XBB.1.16.
E7 specifically targets a region of the coronavirus’ spike protein, inhibiting the shape-shifting process necessary for the virus to infect cells and cause illness.
Chia Wan Ni, a former postdoctoral fellow in Linfa’s lab who now works with Singapore start-up CoV Biotechnology, described E7’s exceptional properties, surpassing other SARS-related coronavirus antibodies they have encountered. Notably, it retained its activity against even the newest Omicron subvariants, while other antibodies lost effectiveness.
The findings of this study lay a solid foundation for designing vaccines and medications that can effectively combat COVID-19 variants and future coronavirus threats. The researchers are optimistic about the possibility of creating a universal coronavirus vaccine based on the lessons learned from inducing broad sarbecovirus-neutralizing antibodies.
The team plans to further investigate the potential of the E7 antibody against existing and future coronaviruses. These groundbreaking results reflect the pivotal role of basic science research in advancing knowledge and paving the way for transformative medical approaches to improve lives and protect against emerging viral threats.