The COVID -19 pandemic has shaken the world to the core, even though it is not as dreadful as Ebola. Using the century-old method of infusing plasma paving the way to logistical victory turned out to be successful in keeping Covid patient out of ICU. But vaccines remains to be the only hope for many.
In the adaptive immune system, Neutralizing antibodies play a crucial role in fighting against viruses by binding to it in a manner that blocks infection. And Of all, a limited subset of these antibodies are capable of neutralization that seems to provide persistence protection against future encounters with the virus. They are produced during natural infection or through vaccination. But, the question that remains unanswered is that “Will these vaccines be enough to withstand the mutated SARS-CoV-2 S variants?”.
A recent study found that the mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and N-terminal domain of SARS-CoV-2 S variants made the virus to resist monoclonal antibodies. The author raises a concern about the emergence of antibody-resistant types of SARS-CoV-2. These resistant S variants that evade commonly elicited neutralizing antibodies exist at low frequencies among the circulating SARS-CoV-2 populations.
The study suggests that natural SARS-CoV-2 infection may often fail to induce sufficient B-cell expansion and maturation to generate high titer neutralizing antibodies. But when SARS-CoV-2 might evolve to evade neutralizing, antibodies, not known yet. The study also describes that the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 might depend upon the frequency of encounters it has with neutralizing antibodies.