SARS-CoV-2 sculpts the immune system to induce sustained virus-specific naïve-like and memory B-cell responses.

OBJECTIVES

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces virus-reactive memory B cells expressing unmutated antibodies, which hints at their emergence from naïve B cells. Yet, the dynamics of virus-specific naïve B cells and their impact on immunity and immunopathology remain unclear.

METHODS

We longitudinally profiled SARS-CoV-2-specific B-cell responses in 25 moderate-to-severe COVID-19 patients by high-dimensional flow cytometry and isotyping and subtyping ELISA. We also explored the relationship of B-cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 with the activation of effector and regulatory cells from the innate or adaptive immune system.

RESULTS

We found a virus-specific antibody response with a broad spectrum of classes and subclasses during acute infection, which evolved into an IgG1-dominated response during convalescence. Acute infection was associated with increased mature B-cell progenitors in the circulation and the unexpected expansion of virus-targeting naïve-like B cells. The latter further augmented during convalescence together with virus-specific memory B cells. In addition to a transitory increase in tissue-homing CXCR3 plasmablasts and extrafollicular memory B cells, most COVID-19 patients showed persistent activation of CD4 and CD8 T cells along with transient or long-lasting changes of key innate immune cells. Remarkably, virus-specific antibodies and the frequency of naïve B cells were among the major variables defining distinct immune signatures associated with disease severity and inflammation.

CONCLUSION

Aside from providing new insights into the complexity of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2, our findings indicate that the recruitment of mature B-cell precursors into the periphery may be central to the induction of antiviral immunity.