Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

February 3, 2021

The Basis of a More Contagious 501Y.V1 Variant of SARS-COV-2

Category:

Topic:

Keywords (Tags):

[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] The receptor binding domain (RBD) of the 501Y.V1 SARS-CoV-2 variant (first identified in the UK) has around a 10-times higher binding affinity for human ACE2 than the RBD of the parent N501 strain, suggesting a potential mechanism for the higher rate of contagiousness observed with this strain. Sera collected from individuals immunized with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could block the binding of Y501-RBD to ACE2, albeit to a slightly lesser degree than wild type. The therapeutic antibody bamlanivimab, however, bound the Y501-RBD as efficiently as the N501-RBD. 

Zhang et al. (Feb 2, 2021). The Basis of a More Contagious 501Y.V1 Variant of SARS-COV-2. BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.02.428884