Characterization of B-cell receptor clonality and immunoglobulin gene usage at multiple time points during active SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Characterization of B-cell receptor clonality and immunoglobulin gene usage at multiple time points during active SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- 2023
Although monoclonal antibodies to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) are known, B-cell receptor repertoire and its change in patients during coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) progression is underreported. We aimed to study this molecularly. We used immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) variable region (IGHV) spectratyping and next-generation sequencing of peripheral blood B-cell genomic DNA collected at multiple time points during disease evolution to study B-cell response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in 14 individuals with acute COVID-19. We found a broad distribution of responding B-cell clones. The IGH gene usage was not significantly skewed but frequencies of individual IGH genes changed repeatedly. We found predominant usage of unmutated and low mutation-loaded IGHV rearrangements characterizing naive and extrafollicular B cells among the majority of expanded peripheral B-cell clonal lineages at most tested time points in most patients. IGH rearrangement usage showed no apparent relation to anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers. Some patients demonstrated mono/oligoclonal populations carrying highly mutated IGHV rearrangements indicating antigen experience at some of the time points tested, including even before anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected. We present evidence demonstrating that the B-cell response to SARS-CoV-2 is individual and includes different lineages of B cells at various time points during COVID-19 progression. Copyright Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
English
0146-6615
10.1002/jmv.29179 [doi]
*COVID-19
*Genes, Immunoglobulin
Antibodies, Viral
B-Lymphocytes
COVID-19/ge [Genetics]
Humans
Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell/ge [Genetics]
SARS-CoV-2/ge [Genetics]
MedStar Montgomery Medical Center
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
Hospitalist
Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
Although monoclonal antibodies to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) are known, B-cell receptor repertoire and its change in patients during coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) progression is underreported. We aimed to study this molecularly. We used immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) variable region (IGHV) spectratyping and next-generation sequencing of peripheral blood B-cell genomic DNA collected at multiple time points during disease evolution to study B-cell response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in 14 individuals with acute COVID-19. We found a broad distribution of responding B-cell clones. The IGH gene usage was not significantly skewed but frequencies of individual IGH genes changed repeatedly. We found predominant usage of unmutated and low mutation-loaded IGHV rearrangements characterizing naive and extrafollicular B cells among the majority of expanded peripheral B-cell clonal lineages at most tested time points in most patients. IGH rearrangement usage showed no apparent relation to anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers. Some patients demonstrated mono/oligoclonal populations carrying highly mutated IGHV rearrangements indicating antigen experience at some of the time points tested, including even before anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected. We present evidence demonstrating that the B-cell response to SARS-CoV-2 is individual and includes different lineages of B cells at various time points during COVID-19 progression. Copyright Published 2023. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
English
0146-6615
10.1002/jmv.29179 [doi]
*COVID-19
*Genes, Immunoglobulin
Antibodies, Viral
B-Lymphocytes
COVID-19/ge [Genetics]
Humans
Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell/ge [Genetics]
SARS-CoV-2/ge [Genetics]
MedStar Montgomery Medical Center
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
Hospitalist
Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural