Impact of Host Immune Status on Discordant Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Circulating B Cell Frequencies and Antibody Levels

Autor: Frédéric Coutant, Jean-Jacques Pin, Florence Morfin-Sherpa, Tristan Ferry, Stéphane Paul, Bruno Pozzetto, Myriam Normand, Pierre Miossec
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol 22, Iss 20, p 11095 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1422-0067
1661-6596
DOI: 10.3390/ijms222011095
Popis: Individuals with pre-existing chronic systemic low-grade inflammation are prone to develop severe COVID-19 and stronger anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses. Whether this phenomenon reflects a differential expansion of antiviral B cells or a failure to regulate antibody synthesis remains unknown. Here, we compared the antiviral B cell repertoire of convalescent healthcare personnel to that of hospitalized patients with pre-existing comorbidities. Out of 277,500 immortalized B cell clones, antiviral B cell frequencies were determined by indirect immunofluorescence screening on SARS-CoV-2 infected cells. Surprisingly, frequencies of SARS-CoV-2 specific clones from the two groups were not statistically different, despite higher antibody levels in hospitalized patients. Moreover, functional analyses revealed that several B cell clones from healthcare personnel with low antibody levels had neutralizing properties. This study reveals for the first time a key qualitative defect of antibody synthesis in severe patients and calls for caution regarding estimated protective immunity based only on circulating antiviral antibodies.
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