Temporal Increase in Neutralization Potency and Reduced Escape of Viral Variants to SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies after Sputnik V Vaccination

Recent studies have shown temporal increase of neutralizing antibody potency and breadth to SARS-CoV-2 variants in convalescent individuals. Here, we found a similar process after Sputnik V vaccination. We examined longitudinal antibody responses and viral neutralizing capacity to variants of concern (VOC: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta) and a broadly spread variant of interest (VOI: Lambda) in volunteers up to 6 months of receiving Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina. A collection of 1800 serum samples obtained between January and August 2021 were used. The analysis indicates that while anti-spike IgG levels significantly wane over time, neutralizing potency against the original SARS-CoV-2 and VOC increase within four months of vaccination, suggesting antibody maturation. This increase was more evident for Beta and Gamma variants, which showed the highest ability for neutralization escape. Our observations suggest that protection increases over time after Sputnik V vaccination as a consequence of antibody maturation, resulting in improved potency of antibodies to viral escape mutations.

已有研究表明，康复个体体内针对新冠病毒（SARS-CoV-2）变异株的中和抗体效价与广谱性随时间推移逐步提升。本研究在接种斯普特尼克V疫苗（Sputnik V）的人群中，观察到了类似的动态变化过程。我们针对阿根廷地区接种斯普特尼克V疫苗后长达6个月的志愿者，检测了其纵向抗体应答水平，以及针对值得关注变异株（Variants of Concern，VOC：Alpha、Beta、Gamma及Delta）和广泛传播的待关注变异株（Variants of Interest，VOI：Lambda）的病毒中和能力。本研究共收集并使用2021年1月至8月间获取的1800份血清样本。分析结果显示，尽管抗刺突蛋白IgG抗体水平随时间推移显著下降，但针对原始新冠病毒及各类值得关注变异株的中和抗体效价在接种后4个月内持续上升，这一现象提示抗体发生了成熟化过程。针对Beta和Gamma变异株的此类效价提升更为显著，这两类变异株的中和逃逸能力最强。本研究结果表明，接种斯普特尼克V疫苗后，机体的保护效力会随时间推移而增强，该效应源于抗体的成熟化过程，可提升抗体针对病毒逃逸突变株的中和效价。