Ultrapotent human antibodies protect against SARS-CoV-2 challenge via multiple mechanisms

We report the isolation and characterization of two ultrapotent SARS-CoV-2 human neutralizing antibodies (S2E12 and S2M11) that protect hamsters against SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Cryo–electron microscopy structures show that S2E12 and S2M11 competitively block angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) attachment and that S2M11 also locks the spike in a closed conformation by recognition of a quaternary epitope spanning two adjacent receptor-binding domains. Antibody cocktails that include S2M11, S2E12, or the previously identified S309 antibody broadly neutralize a panel of circulating SARS-CoV-2 isolates and activate effector functions. Our results pave the way to implement antibody cocktails for prophylaxis or therapy, circumventing or limiting the emergence of viral escape mutants.

Source: ScienceNOW - November 19, 2020 Category: Science Authors: Tortorici, M. A., Beltramello, M., Lempp, F. A., Pinto, D., Dang, H. V., Rosen, L. E., McCallum, M., Bowen, J., Minola, A., Jaconi, S., Zatta, F., De Marco, A., Guarino, B., Bianchi, S., Lauron, E. J., Tucker, H., Zhou, J., Peter, A., Havenar-Daughton, C. Tags: Biochemistry, Immunology r-articles Source Type: news