Classification of five SARS-CoV-2 serotypes based on RBD antigenicities

作者：Shixiong Hu, Chunli Wu, Xinkai Wu, Xuehui Ma, Chang Shu, Qian Chen, Anqi Zheng, Huiting Yang, Jian Lü, Pei Du, George F. Gao, Qihui Wang · 发表于：中国科学通报：英文版 · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1016/j.scib.2023.09.048 · 被引用次数：38 · 研究领域：SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research、Animal Virus Infections Studies、COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies

The continuous evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in a significant number of variants, particularly with the emergence of Omicron with many sub-variants. These variants have exhibited increased immune escape, leading to reduced efficacy of existing vaccines and therapeutic antibodies. Given the diminished cross-neutralization observed among these variants, it is plausible that SARS-CoV-2 has developed multiple serotypes. As the major antigenic site, the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of viral spike (S) protein was chosen for serotyping. We selected 23 representative variants, including pre-Omicron variants and Omicron sub-variants, and classified them into five serotypes based on systematic evaluation of the antigenicities of their RBDs. Each serotype includes several genetically distinct variants. Serotype-I encompasses all pre-Omicron variants (with two subtypes), while the remaining four serotypes are all comprised of Omicron sub-variants at different stages of evolution. We propose that these serotypes can serve as a foundation for rapid classification of newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, and guide the development of future broad-spectrum vaccines and neutralizing antibodies against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).