Antigenic mapping of emerging SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants BM.1.1.1, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1

(The Lancet)

Novel SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants, including BM.1.1.1, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1, continue to emerge at an unprecedented rate, evading pre-existing immunity from vaccination and previous infection. Quantifying the antigenic diversity of variants might assist in selecting future vaccine strains. To determine the antigenic relationships between emerging SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants, we and others  used antigenic cartography, whereby multidimensional scaling is used to generate antigenic maps in which the positions of antigens and antiserum samples directly correspond to neutralising titres. This method allows for the quantification and visualisation of antigenic properties of different variants simultaneously.