Multi-clonal SARS-CoV-2 neutralization by antibodies isolated from severe COVID-19 convalescent donors.

The interactions between antibodies, SARS-CoV-2 and immune cells contribute to the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and protective immunity. To understand the differences between antibody responses in mild versus severe cases of COVID-19, we analyzed the B cell responses in patients 1.5 months post SARS-CoV-2 infection. Severe, and not mild, infection correlated with high titers of IgG against Spike receptor binding domain (RBD) that were capable of ACE2:RBD inhibition. B cell receptor (BCR) sequencing revealed that VH3-53 was enriched during severe infection. Of the 22 antibodies cloned from two severe donors, six exhibited potent neutralization against authentic SARS-CoV-2, and inhibited syncytia formation. Using peptide libraries, competition ELISA and mutagenesis of RBD, we mapped the epitopes of the neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) to three different sites on the Spike. Finally, we used combinations of nAbs targeting different immune-sites to efficiently block SARS-CoV-2 infection. Analysis of 49 healthy BCR repertoires revealed that the nAbs germline VHJH precursors comprise up to 2.7% of all VHJHs. We demonstrate that severe COVID-19 is associated with unique BCR signatures and multi-clonal neutralizing responses that are relatively frequent in the population. Moreover, our data support the use of combination antibody therapy to prevent and treat COVID-19.

ß2-adrenergic signaling promotes higher-affinity B cells and antibodies.

Stress-induced ß2-adrenergic receptor (ß2AR) activation in B cells increases IgG secretion; however, the impact of this activation on antibody affinity and the underlying mechanisms remains unclear. In the current study, we demonstrate that stress in mice following ovalbumin (OVA) or SARS-CoV-2 RBD immunization significantly increases both serum and surface-expressed IgG binding to the immunogen, while concurrently reducing surface IgG expression and B cell clonal expansion. These effects were abolished by pharmacological ß2AR blocking or when the experiments were conducted in ß2AR -/- mice. In the second part of our study, we used single B cell sorting to characterize the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) generated following ß2AR activation in cultured RBD-stimulated B cells from convalescent SARS-CoV-2 donors. Ex vivo ß2AR activation increased the affinities of the produced anti-RBD mAbs by 100-fold compared to mAbs produced by the same donor control cultures. Consistent with the mouse experiments, ß2AR activation reduced both surface IgG levels and the frequency of expanded clones. mRNA sequencing revealed a ß2AR-dependent upregulation of the PI3K pathway and B cell receptor (BCR) signaling through AKT phosphorylation, as well as an increased B cell motility. Overall, our study demonstrates that stress-mediated ß2AR activation drives changes in B cells associated with BCR activation and higher affinity antibodies.

Unleashing natural antibodies against HIV-1.

One barrier to HIV-1 eradication is the viral Env protein that is invisible to most antibodies. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Rajashekar et al. (2021) remove the "invisibility cloak" from Env, make it accessible to antibodies, and demonstrate NK-mediated in vivo killing of infected cells by human plasma antibodies.

Human antibodies targeting a Mycobacterium transporter protein mediate protection against tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) exposure drives antibody responses, but whether patients with active tuberculosis elicit protective antibodies, and against which antigens, is still unclear. Here we generate monoclonal antibodies from memory B cells of one patient to investigate the B cell responses during active infection. The antibodies, members of four distinct B cell clones, are directed against the Mtb phosphate transporter subunit PstS1. Antibodies p4-36 and p4-163 reduce Mycobacterium bovis-BCG and Mtb levels in an ex vivo human whole blood growth inhibition assay in an FcR-dependent manner; meanwhile, germline versions of p4-36 and p4-163 do not bind Mtb. Crystal structures of p4-36 and p4-170, complexed to PstS1, are determined at 2.1 Å and 2.4 Å resolution, respectively, to reveal two distinctive PstS1 epitopes. Lastly, a prophylactic p4-36 and p4-163 treatment in Mtb-infected Balb/c mice reduces bacterial lung burden by 50%. Our study shows that inhibitory anti-PstS1 B cell responses arise during active tuberculosis.