SARS CoV subunit vaccine: antibody-mediated neutralisation and enhancement.

Jaume, M; Yip, M S; Kam, Y W; Cheung, C Y; Kien, F; Roberts, A; Li, P H; Dutry, I; Escriou, N; Daeron, M; Bruzzone, R; Subbarao, K; Peiris, J S M; Nal, B; Altmeyer, R

1. A SARS vaccine was produced based on recombinant native full-length Spike-protein trimers (triSpike) and efficient establishment of a vaccination procedure in rodents. 2. Antibody-mediated enhancement of SARS-CoV infection with anti-SARS-CoV Spike immune-serum was observed in vitro. 3. Antibody-mediated infection of SARS-CoV triggers entry into human haematopoietic cells via an FcγR-dependent and ACE2-, pH-, cysteine-protease-independent pathways. 4. The antibody-mediated enhancement phenomenon is not a mandatory component of the humoral immune response elicited by SARS vaccines, as pure neutralising antibody only could be obtained. 5. Occurrence of immune-mediated enhancement of SARS-CoV infection raises safety concerns regarding the use of SARS-CoV vaccine in humans and enables new ways to investigate SARS pathogenesis (tropism and immune response deregulation).