Jack T. Brown

Jack T. Brown

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Jack T. Brown

Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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19 August 2022 in Science
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
JBJohn E. Bowen
John E. Bowen
AAAmin Addetia
Amin Addetia
HDHA DANG
HA DANG
CSCameron Stewart
Cameron Stewart
JBJack T. Brown
Jack T. Brown
DVDavid Veesler
David Veesler
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant of concern comprises several sublineages, with BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 having replaced the previously dominant BA.1 and with BA.4 and BA.5 increasing in prevalence worldwide. We show that the large number of Omicron sublineage spike mutations leads to enhanced angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding, reduced fusogenicity, and severe dampening of plasma neutralizing activity elicited by infection or seven clinical vaccines relative to the ancestral virus. Administration of a homologous or heterologous booster based on the Wuhan-Hu-1 spike sequence markedly increased neutralizing antibody titers and breadth against BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5 across all vaccines evaluated. Our data suggest that although Omicron sublineages evade polyclonal neutralizing antibody responses elicited by primary vaccine series, vaccine boosters may provide sufficient protection against Omicron-induced severe disease.