B cell clonal expansion and convergent antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2. Research square Nielsen, S. C., Yang, F. n., Hoh, R. A., Jackson, K. J., Roeltgen, K. n., Lee, J. Y., Rustagi, A. n., Rogers, A. J., Powell, A. E., Kim, P. S., Wang, T. T., Pinsky, B. n., Blish, C. A., Boyd, S. D. 2020

Abstract

During virus infection B cells are critical for the production of antibodies and protective immunity. Establishment of a diverse antibody repertoire occurs by rearrangement of germline DNA at the immunoglobulin heavy and light chain loci to encode the membrane-bound form of antibodies, the B cell antigen receptor. Little is known about the B cells and antigen receptors stimulated by the novel human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Here we show that the human B cell compartment in patients with diagnostically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 and clinical COVID-19 is rapidly altered with the early recruitment of B cells expressing a limited subset of V genes, and extensive activation of IgG and IgA subclasses without significant somatic mutation. We detect expansion of B cell clones as well as convergent antibodies with highly similar sequences across SARS-CoV-2 patients, highlighting stereotyped naïve responses to this virus. A shared convergent B cell clonotype in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients was previously seen in patients with SARS. These findings offer molecular insights into shared features of human B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonotic spillover coronaviruses.

View details for DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-27220/v1

View details for PubMedID 32702737

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7336706