Expansion of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Antibody-Secreting Cells and Generation of Neutralizing Antibodies in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in late 2019 and has since become a global pandemic. Pathogen-specific Abs are typically a major predictor of protective immunity, yet human B cell and Ab responses during COVID-19 ar...

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Published in:The Journal of immunology (1950) Vol. 205; no. 9; p. 2437
Main Authors: Varnaitė, Renata, García, Marina, Glans, Hedvig, Maleki, Kimia T, Sandberg, John Tyler, Tynell, Janne, Christ, Wanda, Lagerqvist, Nina, Asgeirsson, Hilmir, Ljunggren, Hans-Gustaf, Ahlén, Gustaf, Frelin, Lars, Sällberg, Matti, Blom, Kim, Klingström, Jonas, Gredmark-Russ, Sara
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01.11.2020
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Antibodies, Neutralizing - immunology
Antibodies, Viral - immunology
B-Lymphocytes - immunology
Betacoronavirus - immunology
Biomarkers - blood
C-Reactive Protein - analysis
Cohort Studies
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections - immunology
Coronavirus Infections - virology
Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins
COVID-19
Female
Hospitalization
Humans
Immunoglobulin A - blood
Immunoglobulin G - blood
Immunoglobulin M - blood
Interleukin-6 - blood
Lymphocyte Activation
Male
Middle Aged
Nucleocapsid Proteins - immunology
Pandemics
Phosphoproteins
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Pneumonia, Viral - immunology
Pneumonia, Viral - virology
SARS-CoV-2
Sweden - epidemiology
Sweden
ISSN:1550-6606, 1550-6606
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in late 2019 and has since become a global pandemic. Pathogen-specific Abs are typically a major predictor of protective immunity, yet human B cell and Ab responses during COVID-19 are not fully understood. In this study, we analyzed Ab-secreting cell and Ab responses in 20 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The patients exhibited typical symptoms of COVID-19 and presented with reduced lymphocyte numbers and increased T cell and B cell activation. Importantly, we detected an expansion of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein-specific Ab-secreting cells in all 20 COVID-19 patients using a multicolor FluoroSpot Assay. Out of the 20 patients, 16 had developed SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing Abs by the time of inclusion in the study. SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA, IgG, and IgM Ab levels positively correlated with SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing Ab titers, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2-specific Ab levels may reflect the titers of neutralizing Abs in COVID-19 patients during the acute phase of infection. Last, we showed that IL-6 and C-reactive protein serum concentrations were higher in patients who were hospitalized for longer, supporting the recent observations that IL-6 and C-reactive protein could be used as markers for COVID-19 severity. Altogether, this study constitutes a detailed description of clinical and immunological parameters in 20 COVID-19 patients, with a focus on B cell and Ab responses, and describes tools to study immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination.
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ISSN:1550-6606
1550-6606
DOI:10.4049/jimmunol.2000717