SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 enters lung cells and evades neutralizing antibodies with high efficiency. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194966/)

These scientists wanted to understand more about a new variant of the coronavirus called BA.2.86. This variant has many changes in a part of the virus called the spike protein and has been spreading in different countries. The scientists wanted to see if this variant behaves differently from other variants.

To do this, the scientists used something called pseudotyped particles, which are harmless versions of the virus that can mimic how the real virus enters our lung cells. They found that BA.2.86 enters lung cells very easily, especially compared to other Omicron variants. They also discovered that this entry into the lung cells depends on a protein called serine, instead of another protein called cysteine.

The scientists also tested how well the real BA.2.86 virus infects lung cells. They found that it can infect lung cells quite well, but it doesn't spread very efficiently from one cell to another. This means that it might not be as easily transmitted from person to person.

Another important finding was that BA.2.86 is highly resistant to many therapeutic antibodies, which are special proteins that can help our immune system fight the virus. This means that the antibodies induced by vaccines that were not specifically designed for BA.2.86 might not be as effective against this variant. However, antibodies induced by a specific adapted vaccine called XBB.1.5 can still neutralize BA.2.86.

In summary, the scientists discovered that BA.2.86 behaves differently from other variants of the virus. It can enter lung cells easily, but it doesn't spread very well between cells. It is also resistant to many antibodies, but can still be neutralized by antibodies induced by a specific adapted vaccine.

Zhang L., Kempf A., Nehlmeier I., Cossmann A., Richter A., Bdeir N., Graichen L., Moldenhauer AS., Dopfer-Jablonka A., Stankov MV., Simon-Loriere E., Schulz SR., Jack HM., Cicin-Sain L., Behrens GMN., Drosten C., Hoffmann M., Pohlmann S. SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 enters lung cells and evades neutralizing antibodies with high efficiency. Cell. 2024 Feb 1;187(3):596-608.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.025. Epub 2024 Jan 8.