Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) targeting the spike (S) glycoprotein remain a crucial therapeutic strategy against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, emerging viral variants have escaped all Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved NAb treatments, underscoring the urgent need for effective therapeutic alternatives. Using a nanoluciferase (Nluc)-expressing attenuated recombinant SARS-CoV-2 lacking the open reading frames (ORFs) 3a and 7b (Δ3a7b-Nluc), we characterized resistance profiles of two broadly protective NAbs targeting the S receptor binding domain (RBD) in S1 (1301B7) and the stem helix domain (SH) in S2 (1249A8). Serial passaging of Δ3a7b-Nluc under selective pressure identified a 1301B7 antibody-resistant mutant (ARM-B7) harboring an RBD mutation (S371F) that conferred resistance to 1301B7 and other RBD-directed NAbs (casirivimab, SC27, and sotrovimab). In contrast, no ARM emerged under treatment with 1249A8 or an antibody cocktail of 1301B7 (RBD) + 1249A8 (SH). These findings demonstrate that escape mutations in S2 SH are not easily tolerated by the virus compared with S1 RBD, and that a NAbs cocktail therapy targeting the SARS-CoV-2 S1 RBD and S2 SH offers the most effective strategy to prevent the emergence of escape mutations. Together, our findings provide critical insights into developing next-generation resistance-evading NAb therapies against SARS-CoV-2, and potentially other coronaviruses, and demonstrate the value of using our attenuated viral platforms for the safe identification of ARM without the potential biosafety concerns of doing these experiments using wild-type (WT) forms of SARS-CoV-2. IMPORTANCE: The clinical efficacy of early SARS-CoV-2 NAbs has been challenged by the emergence of escape viral variants, highlighting an urgent need to anticipate resistance. Using a luminescent attenuated SARS-CoV-2 platform, we profiled resistant mutations against two broadly protective SARS-CoV-2 NAbs. Passage of Δ3a7b-Nluc in the presence of a NAb targeting the RBD S1 domain (1301B7) readily selected for an ARM, whereas passage in the presence of an SH S2 domain NAb (1249A8) did not. Notably, a cocktail of 1301B7 and 1249A8 created a high barrier of selecting SARS-CoV-2 ARM, preventing the emergence of resistant variants. We identified an S371F mutation in the S1 RBD of ARM-B7 that confers resistance to 1301B7 and other S1 RBD-targeting NAbs. These results highlight the importance of combination therapies targeting both variable RBD S1 and conserved SH S2 domain for the efficient treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and to prevent the emergence of NAb-induced escape mutations.
Ma et al. (Tue,) studied this question.