SARS-CoV-2 infection severity is linked to superior humoral immunity against the spike

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently causing a global pandemic. The antigen specificity and kinetics of the antibody response mounted against this novel virus are not understood in detail. Here, we report that subjects with a more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection exhi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:bioRxiv 2020-09
Main Authors: Guthmiller, Jenna J, Stovicek, Olivia, Wang, Jiaolong, Changrob, Siriruk, Li, Lei, Halfmann, Peter, Zheng, Nai-Ying, Utset, Henry, Stamper, Christopher T, Dugan, Haley L, Miller, William D, Huang, Min, Dai, Ya-Nan, Nelson, Christopher A, Hall, Paige D, Jansen, Maud, Shanmugarajah, Kumaran, Donington, Jessica S, Krammer, Florian, Fremont, Daved H, Joachimiak, Andrzej, Kawaoka, Yoshihiro, Tesic, Vera, Madariaga, Maria Lucia, Wilson, Patrick C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibodies
Antibody response
Antigens
Coronaviruses
Epitopes
Humoral immunity
Immunological memory
Infections
Nucleocapsids
Pandemics
Proteins
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Structural proteins
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Summary:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently causing a global pandemic. The antigen specificity and kinetics of the antibody response mounted against this novel virus are not understood in detail. Here, we report that subjects with a more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection exhibit a larger antibody response against the spike and nucleocapsid protein and epitope spreading to subdominant viral antigens, such as open reading frame 8 and non-structural proteins. Subjects with a greater antibody response mounted a larger memory B cell response against the spike, but not the nucleocapsid protein. Additionally, we revealed that antibodies against the spike are still capable of binding the D614G spike mutant and cross-react with the SARS-CoV-1 receptor binding domain. Together, this study reveals that subjects with a more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection exhibit a greater overall antibody response to the spike and nucleocapsid protein and a larger memory B cell response against the spike.
ISSN:2692-8205
DOI:10.1101/2020.09.12.294066