In Vitro and In Vivo Neutralizing Efficacy of Monoclonal Antibodies Against Sars-Cov-2 Variants in KidneyTransplant Recipients

Transplant International

Ilies Benotmane*†, Martin Jungbauer-Groznica†, Isabelle Staropoli, Delphine Planas,

Océane Dehan, Angela Brisebarre, Etienne Simon-Loriere, Samira Fafi-Kremer,

Olivier Schwartz, Timothée Bruel and Sophie Caillard

Summary

Solid organ transplant recipients continue to face a heightened risk of severe COVID-19, despite a decrease in virus virulence since the emergence of Omicron. Managing preventive and therapeutic strategies in this population poses challenges due to their reduced vaccine response, potential drug-drug interactions with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, and the ability of variants to escape neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Neutralization is a surrogate marker of protection for both active (from previous infection or vaccination) and passive immunity (from monoclonal antibodies), and it is utilized for immunobridging of newly available therapeutic antibodies. However, its use in optimizing care for immunocompromised patients is rare, partly due to the absence of a well-defined protective threshold. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that evade neutralization necessitates ongoing evaluation of therapeutic mAbs and provides an opportunity to explore the relationship between neutralization activity and clinical outcomes. Here, we evaluated the

in vitro neutralizing activity of sotrovimab and other therapeutic mAbs against XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16.1, and XBB.1.9.1 variants. We also retrospectively investigated the neutralization against these variants of sera from kidney transplant recipients (KTR) who received sotrovimab

More information at DOI: 10.3389/ti.2024.13272