The post-COVID-19 population has a high prevalence of crossreactive antibodies to spikes from allOrthocoronavirinaegenera

Abstract

AbstractThe Orthocoronaviridae subfamily is large comprising four highly divergent genera. Four seasonal coronaviruses were circulating in humans prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Infection with these viruses induced antibody responses that are relatively narrow with little cross-reactivity to spike proteins of other coronaviruses. Here, we report that infection with and vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induces broadly crossreactive binding antibodies to spikes from a wide range of coronaviruses including members of the sarbecovirus subgenus, betacoronaviruses including Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV), and extending to alpha-, gamma- and delta-coronavirus spikes. These data show that the coronavirus spike antibody landscape in humans has profoundly been changed and broadened as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. While we do not understand the functionality of these crossreactive antibodies, they may lead to enhanced resistance of the population to infection with newly emerging coronaviruses with pandemic potential.