Grace Jean
Masters Student in Developmental Biology, admitted Autumn 2023
All Publications
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Shared B cell memory to coronaviruses and other pathogens varies in human age groups and tissues.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
2021
Abstract
Vaccination and infection promote the formation, tissue distribution, and clonal evolution of B cells, which encode humoral immune memory. We evaluated convergent antigen-specific antibody genes of similar sequences shared between individuals in pediatric and adult blood, and deceased organ donor tissues. B cell memory varied for different pathogens. Polysaccharide antigen-specific clones were not exclusive to the spleen. Adults had higher clone frequencies and greater class-switching in lymphoid tissues than blood, while pediatric blood had abundant class-switched convergent clones. Consistent with reported serology, pre-pandemic children had class-switched convergent clones to SARS-CoV-2 with weak cross-reactivity to other coronaviruses, while adult blood or tissues showed few such clones. The results highlight the prominence of early childhood B cell clonal expansions and cross-reactivity for future responses to novel pathogens.
View details for DOI 10.1126/science.abf6648
View details for PubMedID 33846272
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Human B Cell Clonal Expansion and Convergent Antibody Responses to SARS-CoV-2.
Cell host & microbe
2020
Abstract
B cells are critical for the production of antibodies and protective immunity to viruses. Here we show that patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) who develop coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) display early recruitment of B cells expressing a limited subset of IGHV genes, progressing to a highly polyclonal response of B cells with broader IGHV gene usage and extensive class switching to IgG and IgA subclasses with limited somatic hypermutation in the initial weeks of infection. We identify convergence of antibody sequences across SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, highlighting stereotyped naive responses to this virus. Notably, sequence-based detection in COVID-19 patients of convergent B cell clonotypes previously reported in SARS-CoV infection predicts the presence of SARS-CoV/SARS-CoV-2 cross-reactive antibody titers specific for the receptor-binding domain. These findings offer molecular insights into shared features of human B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.chom.2020.09.002
View details for PubMedID 32941787