Virological characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 subvariants, including BA.4 and BA.5

Kimura, Izumi; Yamasoba, Daichi; Tamura, Tomokazu; Nao, Naganori; Suzuki, Tateki; Oda, Yoshitaka; Mitoma, Shuya; Ito, Jumpei; Nasser, Hesham; Zahradník, Jiří; Uriu, Keiya; Fujita, Shigeru; Kosugi, Yusuke; Wang, Lei; Tsuda, Masumi; Kishimoto, Mai; Ito, Hayato; Suzuki, Rigel; Shimizu, Ryo; Begum, Murshida; Yoshimatsu, Kumiko; Kimura, Kanako; Sasaki, Jiei; Sasaki-Tabata, Kaori; Yamamoto, Yuki; Nagamoto, Tetsuharu; Kanamune, Jun; Kobiyama, Kouji; Asakura, Hiroyuki; Nagashima, Mami; Sadamasu, Kenji; Yoshimura, Kazuhisa; Shirakawa, Kotaro; Takaori‐Kondo, Akifumi; Kuramochi, Jin; Schreiber, Gideon; Ishii, Ken J.; Hanabusa, Takao; Ikeda, Terumasa; Saito, Akatsuki; Fukuhara, Takasuke; Tanaka, Shinya; Matsuno, Keita; Sato, Kei

doi:10.1016/j.cell.2022.09.018

Cited by 230 publications

(368 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…BA.4 and BA.5 have identical spike protein and carry their own unique mutations, including L452R that exhibited the enhanced fusogenic activity and pose resistant to the immunity induced by the infection with early variants 13 . This observation is consistent with the series of our studies using the recombinant viruses replacing the spike protein gene from the ancestral early pandemic variants.…”

Section: Mainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants including BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5

Tamura

Yamasoba

Oda

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Unremitting emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants imposes us to continuous control measurement. Given the rapid spread, new Omicron subvariant named BA.5 is urgently required for characterization. Here we analyzed BA.5 with the other Omicron variants BA.1, BA.2, and ancestral B.1.1 comprehensively. Although in vitro growth kinetics of BA.5 is comparable among the Omicron subvariants, BA.5 become much more fusogenic than BA.1 and BA.2. The airway-on-a-chip analysis showed that the ability of BA.5 to disrupt the respiratory epithelial and endothelial barriers is enhanced among Omicron subvariants. Furthermore, in our hamster model, in vivo replication of BA.5 is comparable with that of the other Omicrons and less than that of the ancestral B.1.1. Importantly, inflammatory response against BA.5 is strong compared with BA.1 and BA.2. Our data suggest that BA.5 is still low pathogenic compared to ancestral strain but evolved to induce enhanced inflammation when compared to prior Omicron subvariants.

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Section: Mainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants including BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5

Tamura

Yamasoba

Oda

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…The BA.2 subvariant overtook BA.1 due to its slightly enhanced transmissibility and immune evasion, with an ability to reinfect individuals who were previously infected with BA.1 (Iketani et al, 2022; Lyngse et al, 2022; Stegger et al, 2022). From BA.2, several subvariants emerged in quick succession, often with concurrent circulations; these included the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants (bearing identical S proteins, referred to as BA.4/5 hereafter) that next rose to dominance and exhibited further immune escape (Cao et al, 2022c; Hachmann et al, 2022; Khan et al, 2022; Kimura et al, 2022; Qu et al, 2022b; Tuekprakhon et al, 2022; Wang et al, 2022b). In addition, BA.2 gave rise to the BA.2.75 subvariant, which is currently increasing in proportion of COVID-19 cases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022), but does not exhibit as substantial immune escape compared to BA.4/5 (Cao et al, 2022a; Qu et al, 2022a; Saito et al; Wang et al, 2022c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct Neutralizing Antibody Escape of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Subvariants BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BA.4.6, BF.7 and BA.2.75.2

Evans

Faraone

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Continued evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has led to the emergence of several new Omicron subvariants including BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BA.4.6, BF.7 and BA.2.75.2. Here we examine the neutralization resistance of these subvariants as well as their ancestral BA.4/5, BA.2.75 and D614G variants against sera from 3-dose vaccinated health care workers, hospitalized BA.1-wave patients, and BA.5-wave patients. We found enhanced neutralization resistance in all new subvariants, especially the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants driven by a key N460K mutation and to a lesser extent, R346T and K444T mutations, as well as the BA.2.75.2 subvariant driven largely by its key F486S mutation. The BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants also exhibited enhanced fusogenicity and S processing dictated by the key N460K mutation. Interestingly, the BA.2.75.2 subvariant saw an enhancement by the F486S mutation and a reduction by the D1199N mutation to its fusogenicity and S processing resulting in minimal overall change. Molecular modelling revealed the mechanisms of receptor-binding and non-receptor binding monoclonal antibody-mediated immune evasion by R346T, K444T, F486S and D1199N mutations. Altogether, these findings shed light on the concerning evolution of newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants.

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“…The ability to seemingly evade vaccine- and infection-induced immunity provides BA.4 and BA.5 with this growth advantage. Although their severity in humans remains unclear, infection experiments on hamsters suggest that BA.4 and BA.5 may spread more efficiently through lung cells and may be more pathogenic than BA.2 19 . The apparent continued genomic diversification of Omicron lineages highlights the need to tightly monitor its evolution and dispersal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing the international arrivals of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants after Aotearoa New Zealand reopened its border

et al. 2022

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In the second quarter of 2022, there was a global surge of emergent SARS-CoV-2 lineages that had a distinct growth advantage over then-dominant Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 lineages. By generating 10,403 Omicron genomes, we show that Aotearoa New Zealand observed an influx of these immune-evasive variants (BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5) through the border. This is explained by the return to significant levels of international travel following the border’s reopening in March 2022. We estimate one Omicron transmission event from the border to the community for every ~5,000 passenger arrivals at the current levels of travel and restriction. Although most of these introductions did not instigate any detected onward transmission, a small minority triggered large outbreaks. Genomic surveillance at the border provides a lens on the rate at which new variants might gain a foothold and trigger new waves of infection.

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Virological characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 subvariants, including BA.4 and BA.5

Cited by 230 publications

References 76 publications

Comparative pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants including BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5

Comparative pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants including BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5

Distinct Neutralizing Antibody Escape of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Subvariants BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BA.4.6, BF.7 and BA.2.75.2

Tracing the international arrivals of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants after Aotearoa New Zealand reopened its border

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