Immunoglobulin replacement products protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo despite poor neutralizing activity.

Immunoglobulin (IG) replacement products are used routinely in patients with immune deficiency and other immune dysregulation disorders who have poor responses to vaccination and require passive immunity conferred by commercial antibody products. The binding, neutralizing, and protective activity of intravenously administered IG against SARS-CoV-2 emerging variants remains unknown. Here, we tested 198 different IG products manufactured from December 2019 to August 2022. We show that prepandemic IG had no appreciable cross-reactivity or neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2. Anti-spike antibody titers and neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 WA1/2020 D614G increased gradually after the pandemic started and reached levels comparable to vaccinated healthy donors 18 months after the diagnosis of the first COVID-19 case in the United States in January 2020. The average time between production to infusion of IG products was 8 months, which resulted in poor neutralization of the variant strain circulating at the time of infusion. Despite limited neutralizing activity, IG prophylaxis with clinically relevant dosing protected susceptible K18-hACE2-transgenic mice against clinical disease, lung infection, and lung inflammation caused by the XBB.1.5 Omicron variant. Moreover, following IG prophylaxis, levels of XBB.1.5 infection in the lung were higher in FcγR-KO mice than in WT mice. Thus, IG replacement products with poor neutralizing activity against evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants likely confer protection to patients with immune deficiency disorders through Fc effector function mechanisms.

Vertebrate-class-specific binding modes of the alphavirus receptor MXRA8.

MXRA8 is a receptor for chikungunya (CHIKV) and other arthritogenic alphaviruses with mammalian hosts. However, mammalian MXRA8 does not bind to alphaviruses that infect humans and have avian reservoirs. Here, we show that avian, but not mammalian, MXRA8 can act as a receptor for Sindbis, western equine encephalitis (WEEV), and related alphaviruses with avian reservoirs. Structural analysis of duck MXRA8 complexed with WEEV reveals an inverted binding mode compared with mammalian MXRA8 bound to CHIKV. Whereas both domains of mammalian MXRA8 bind CHIKV E1 and E2, only domain 1 of avian MXRA8 engages WEEV E1, and no appreciable contacts are made with WEEV E2. Using these results, we generated a chimeric avian-mammalian MXRA8 decoy-receptor that neutralizes infection of multiple alphaviruses from distinct antigenic groups in vitro and in vivo. Thus, different alphaviruses can bind MXRA8 encoded by different vertebrate classes with distinct engagement modes, which enables development of broad-spectrum inhibitors.

mRNA vaccine boosting enhances antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in individuals with antibody deficiency syndromes.

Individuals with primary antibody deficiency (PAD) syndromes have poor humoral immune responses requiring immunoglobulin replacement therapy. We followed individuals with PAD after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination by evaluating their immunoglobulin replacement products and serum for anti-spike binding, Fcγ receptor (FcγR) binding, and neutralizing activities. The immunoglobulin replacement products tested have low anti-spike and receptor-binding domain (RBD) titers and neutralizing activity. In coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-naive individuals with PAD, anti-spike and RBD titers increase after mRNA vaccination but wane by 90 days. Those vaccinated after SARS-CoV-2 infection develop higher and more sustained responses comparable with healthy donors. Most vaccinated individuals with PAD have serum-neutralizing antibody titers above an estimated correlate of protection against ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and Delta virus but not against Omicron virus, although this is improved by boosting. Thus, some immunoglobulin replacement products likely have limited protective activity, and immunization and boosting of individuals with PAD with mRNA vaccines should confer at least short-term immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron.

SARS-CoV-2 booster vaccination rescues attenuated IgG1 memory B cell response in primary antibody deficiency patients.

Background: Although SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have proven effective in eliciting a protective immune response in healthy individuals, their ability to induce a durable immune response in immunocompromised individuals remains poorly understood. Primary antibody deficiency (PAD) syndromes are among the most common primary immunodeficiency disorders in adults and are characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and impaired ability to mount robust antibody responses following infection or vaccination. Methods: Here, we present an analysis of both the B and T cell response in a prospective cohort of 30 individuals with PAD up to 150 days following initial COVID-19 vaccination and 150 days post mRNA booster vaccination. Results: After the primary vaccination series, many of the individuals with PAD syndromes mounted SARS-CoV-2 specific memory B and CD4+ T cell responses that overall were comparable to healthy individuals. Nonetheless, individuals with PAD syndromes had reduced IgG1+ and CD11c+ memory B cell responses following the primary vaccination series, with the defect in IgG1 class-switching rescued following mRNA booster doses. Boosting also elicited an increase in the SARS-CoV-2-specific B and T cell response and the development of Omicron-specific memory B cells in COVID-19-naïve PAD patients. Individuals that lacked detectable B cell responses following primary vaccination did not benefit from booster vaccination. Conclusion: Together, these data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines elicit memory B and T cells in most PAD patients and highlights the importance of booster vaccination in immunodeficient individuals.