SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific memory B cells express markers of durable immunity after non-severe COVID-19 but not after severe disease.
Raphael A Reyes, Kathleen Clarke, S Jake Gonzales, Angelene M Cantwell, Rolando Garza, Gabriel Catano, Robin E Tragus, Thomas F Patterson, Sebastiaan Bol, Evelien M Bunnik
Author Information
Raphael A Reyes: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Kathleen Clarke: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
S Jake Gonzales: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Angelene M Cantwell: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Rolando Garza: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Gabriel Catano: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, University Health System, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Robin E Tragus: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, University Health System, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Thomas F Patterson: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, University Health System, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Sebastiaan Bol: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Evelien M Bunnik: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Long School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
SARS-CoV-2 infection elicits a robust B cell response, resulting in the generation of long-lived plasma cells and memory B cells. Here, we aimed to determine the effect of COVID-19 severity on the memory B cell response and characterize changes in the memory B cell compartment between recovery and five months post-symptom onset. Using high-parameter spectral flow cytometry, we analyzed the phenotype of memory B cells with reactivity against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein or the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) in recovered individuals who had been hospitalized with non-severe (n=8) or severe (n=5) COVID-19. One month after symptom onset, a substantial proportion of spike-specific IgG B cells showed an activated phenotype. In individuals who experienced non-severe disease, spike-specific IgG B cells showed increased expression of markers associated with durable B cell memory, including T-bet, FcRL5, and CD11c, which was not observed after severe disease. Five months post-symptom onset, the majority of spike-specific memory B cells had a resting phenotype and the percentage of spike-specific T-bet IgG memory B cells decreased to baseline levels. Collectively, our results suggest that the memory B cell response elicited during non-severe COVID-19 may be of higher quality than the response after severe disease.
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