Expansion of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Antibody-Secreting Cells and Generation of Neutralizing Antibodies in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients.
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Varnaitė R, García M, Glans H, Maleki KT, Sandberg JT, Tynell J, Christ W, Lagerqvist N, Asgeirsson H, Ljunggren HG, Ahlén G, Frelin L, Sällberg M, Blom K, Klingström J, Gredmark-Russ S
J Immunol 205 (9) 2437-2446 [2020-11-01; online 2020-09-02]
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.
Funder: KAW/SciLifeLab National COVID program
Research Area: Host cell systems biology and targets
PubMed 32878912
DOI 10.4049/jimmunol.2000717
Crossref 10.4049/jimmunol.2000717
pmc: PMC7576114
pii: jimmunol.2000717