RESUMEN
Infection with the ß-coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 typically generates strong virus-specific antibody production. Antibody responses against novel features of SARS-CoV-2 proteins require naïve B cell activation, but there is a growing appreciation that conserved regions are recognized by pre-existing memory B cells (MBCs) generated by endemic coronaviruses. The current study investigated the role of pre-existing cross-reactive coronavirus memory in the antibody response to the viral spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins following SARS-CoV-2 infection. The breadth of reactivity of circulating antibodies, plasmablasts, and MBCs was analyzed. Acutely infected subjects generated strong IgG responses to the S protein, including the novel receptor binding domain, the conserved S2 region, and to the N protein. The response included reactivity to the S of endemic ß-coronaviruses and, interestingly, to the N of an endemic α-coronavirus. Both mild and severe infection expanded IgG MBC populations reactive to the S of SARS-CoV-2 and endemic ß-coronaviruses. Avidity of S-reactive IgG antibodies and MBCs increased after infection. Overall, findings indicate that the response to the S and N of SARS-CoV-2 involves pre-existing MBC activation and adaptation to novel features of the proteins, along with the potential of imprinting to shape the response to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The ability of influenza vaccines to elicit CD4(+) T cells and the relationship between induction of CD4(+) T cells and vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody responses has been controversial. The emergence of swine-origin 2009 pandemic influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A[H1N1]pdm09) provided a unique opportunity to examine responses to an influenza vaccine composed of both novel and previously encountered antigens and to probe the relationship between B-cell and T-cell responses to vaccination. METHODS: We tracked CD4(+) T-cell and antibody responses of human subjects vaccinated with monovalent subunit A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine. The specificity and magnitude of the CD4(+) T-cell response was evaluated using cytokine enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assays in conjugation with peptide pools representing distinct influenza virus proteins. RESULTS: Our studies revealed that vaccination induced readily detectable CD4(+) T cells specific for conserved portions of hemagglutinin (HA) and the internal viral proteins. Interestingly, expansion of HA-specific CD4(+) T cells was most tightly correlated with the antibody response. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that CD4(+) T-cell expansion may be a limiting factor in development of neutralizing antibody responses to pandemic influenza vaccines and suggest that approaches to facilitate CD4(+) T-cell recruitment may increase the neutralizing antibody produced in response to vaccines against novel influenza strains.
