Pre-COVID-19 humoral immunity to common coronaviruses does not confer cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2

Miyara, Makoto; Sterlin, Delphine; Anna, Francois; Marot, Stephane; Mathian, Alexis; Atif, Mo; Quentric, Paul; Mohr, Audrey; Claer, Laetitia; Dorgham, Karim; Parizot, Christophe; Yssel, Hans; Chazal, Thibaud; Fadlallah, Jehane; Haroche, Julien; Benameur, Neila; Boutolleau, David; Burrel, Sonia; Mudumba, Sasi; Hockett, Rick; Genalyte, Cary; Charneau, Pierre; Calvez, Vincent; Marcelin, Anne-Genevieve; Amoura, Zahir; Gorochov, Guy

It is currently unknown whether acquired immunity to common alpha- and beta-coronaviruses provides cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we found that certain patient sera and intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) collected prior to the COVID-19 outbreak were cross-reactive to SARS-CoV-2 full-length Spike, S2 domain, and nucleoprotein. However, their presence did not translate into neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Importantly, we detected serum IgG reactivity to common coronaviruses in the early sera of patients with severe COVID-19 before the appearance of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Collectively, the results of our study indicate that pre-existing immunity to common coronaviruses does not confer cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2 in vivo.