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Germinal centre-driven maturation of B cell response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

ABSTRACT: Germinal centres (GC) are lymphoid structures where vaccine-responding B cells acquire affinity-enhancing somatic hypermutations (SHM), with surviving clones differentiating into memory B cells (MBCs) and long-lived bone marrow plasma cells (BMPCs)1–4. Induction of the latter is a hallmark of durable immunity after vaccination5. SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination induces a robust GC response in humans6–8, but the maturation dynamics of GC B cells and propagation of their progeny throughout the B cell diaspora have not been elucidated. Here we show that anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike (S)-binding GC B cells were detectable in draining lymph nodes for at least six months in 10 out of 15 individuals who had received two doses of BNT162b2, a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine. Six months after vaccination, circulating S-binding MBCs were detected in all participants (n=42) and S-specific IgG-secreting BMPCs were detected in 9 out of 11 participants. Using a combined approach of single-cell RNA sequencing of responding blood and lymph node B cells from eight participants and expression of the corresponding monoclonal antibodies, we tracked the evolution of 1540 S-specific B cell clones. SHM accumulated along the B cell differentiation trajectory, with early blood plasmablasts showing the lowest frequencies, followed by MBCs and lymph node plasma cells whose SHM largely overlapped with GC B cells. By three months after vaccination, the frequency of SHM within GC B cells had doubled. Strikingly, S+ BMPCs detected six months after vaccination accumulated the highest level of SHM, corresponding with significantly enhanced anti-S polyclonal antibody avidity in blood at that time point. This study documents the induction of affinity-matured BMPCs after two doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in humans, providing a foundation for the sustained high efficacy observed with these vaccines.

SUBMITTER: Kim W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8575138 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been rapidly approved. Although pivotal studies were conducted in healthy volunteers, little information is available on the safety and efficacy of mRNA vaccines in immunocompromised patients, including recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Here we used a novel assay to analyze patient- and transplantation-related factors and their influence on immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination over an extended period (up to 6 months) in a large and homogenous group of allo-HCT recipients at a single center in Switzerland. We examined longitudinal antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with BNT162b2 (BioNTech/Pfizer) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) in 110 allo-HCT recipients and 86 healthy controls. Seroprofiling recording IgG, IgA, and IgM reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 antigens (receptor-binding domain, spike glycoprotein subunits S1 and S2, and nucleocapsid protein) was performed before vaccination, before the second dose, and at 1, 3, and 6 months after the second dose. Patients were stratified to 3 groups: 3 to 6 months post-allo-HCT, 6 to 12 months post-allo-HCT, and >12 months post-allo-HCT. Patients in the 3 to 6 months and 6 to 12 months post-allo-HCT groups developed significantly lower antibody titers after vaccination compared with patients in the >12 months post-allo-HCT group and healthy controls (P < .001). Within the cohort of allo-HCT recipients, patients age >65 years (P = .030), those receiving immunosuppression for prevention or treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (P = .033), and patients with relapsed disease (P = .014) displayed low humoral immune responses to the vaccine. In contrast, the intensity of the conditioning regimen, underlying disease (myeloid/lymphoid/other), and presence of chronic GVHD had no impact on antibody levels. Antibody titers achieved the highest levels at 1 month after the second dose of the vaccine but waned substantially in all transplantation groups and healthy controls over time. This analysis of long-term vaccine antibody response is of critical importance to allo-HCT recipients and transplant physicians to guide treatment decisions regarding revaccination and social behavior during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Project description:BackgroundThe humoral immune response after primary immunisation with a SARS-CoV-2 vector vaccine (AstraZeneca AZD1222, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, Vaxzevria) followed by an mRNA vaccine boost (Pfizer/BioNTech, BNT162b2; Moderna, m-1273) was examined and compared with the antibody response after homologous vaccination schemes (AZD1222/AZD1222 or BNT162b2/BNT162b2).MethodsSera from 59 vaccinees were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) and virus-neutralising antibodies (VNA) with three IgG assays based on (parts of) the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S)-protein as antigen, an IgG immunoblot (additionally contains the SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein (NP) as an antigen), a surrogate neutralisation test (sVNT), and a Vero-cell-based virus-neutralisation test (cVNT) with the B.1.1.7 variant of concern (VOC; alpha) as antigen. Investigation was done before and after heterologous (n = 30 and 42) or homologous booster vaccination (AZD1222/AZD1222, n = 8/9; BNT162b2/BNT162b2, n = 8/8). After the second immunisation, a subgroup of 26 age- and gender-matched sera (AZD1222/mRNA, n = 9; AZD1222/AZD1222, n = 9; BNT162b2/BNT162b2, n = 8) was also tested for VNA against VOC B.1.617.2 (delta) in the cVNT. The strength of IgG binding to separate SARS-CoV-2 antigens was measured by avidity.ResultsAfter the first vaccination, the prevalence of IgG directed against the (trimeric) SARS-CoV-2 S-protein and its receptor binding domain (RBD) varied from 55-95% (AZD1222) to 100% (BNT162b2), depending on the vaccine regimen and the SARS-CoV-2 antigen used. The booster vaccination resulted in 100% seroconversion and the occurrence of highly avid IgG, which is directed against the S-protein subunit 1 and the RBD, as well as VNA against VOC B.1.1.7, while anti-NP IgGs were not detected. The results of the three anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG tests showed an excellent correlation to the VNA titres against this VOC. The agreement of cVNT and sVNT results was good. However, the sVNT seems to overestimate non- and weak B.1.1.7-neutralising titres. The anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG concentrations and the B.1.1.7-neutralising titres were significantly higher after heterologous vaccination compared to the homologous AZD1222 scheme. If VOC B.1.617.2 was used as antigen, significantly lower VNA titres were measured in the cVNT, and three (33.3%) vector vaccine recipients had a VNA titre < 1:10.ConclusionsHeterologous SARS-CoV-2 vaccination leads to a strong antibody response with anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG concentrations and VNA titres at a level comparable to that of a homologous BNT162b2 vaccination scheme. Irrespective of the chosen immunisation regime, highly avid IgG antibodies can be detected just 2 weeks after the second vaccine dose indicating the development of a robust humoral immunity. The reduction in the VNA titre against VOC B.1.617.2 observed in the subgroup of 26 individuals is remarkable and confirms the immune escape of the delta variant.

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Germinal centre-driven maturation of B cell response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

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