Dataset Information

Persistent IgG1 clones dominate and personalize the plasma antibody repertoire

ABSTRACT: Antibodies play a pivotal role in the immune defense and long-term immunity. Yet, while several studies have highlighted the long durability of antigen-specific antibody responses, it is unclear whether this durability stems from the continuous production of the same clones or the recurrent activation of B cells generating new clones over time. To gain insights into the long-term stability of the human antibody repertoire, we monitored the concentrations of hundreds of the most abundant IgG1 antibody clones in plasma samples of 11 healthy donors at 9 sampling points over a year. During this year, each donor received 3 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Notwithstanding these vaccinations, the concentrations of the most abundant individual IgG1 clones remained extraordinarily constant throughout the year. Given the 2-3 week turn-over of IgG1 molecules in blood, our data suggest that these abundant clones are primarily associated with long-term immunity rather than being induced by acute infections or vaccinations. These dominant clones do not undergo further somatic hypermutation over the year and are therefore likely produced consistently by long-lived plasma cells. The long-term stability of dominant IgG1 clones was observed in all donors, although there was no overlap in any of the detected clones when comparing IgG1 repertoires across donors. While most dominant IgG1 clones remained constant throughout the year, a small subset emerged later and remained stable thereafter, whereas another subset decreased in concentration. Overall, our data suggests that the vast majority of abundant IgG1 clones in plasma are persistently produced by long-lived plasma cells.

INSTRUMENT(S): Orbitrap Exploris 480

ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens (ncbitaxon:9606)

SUBMITTER: Albert J.R. Heck