作者: Malladi, Sameer K ; Horvath, Stephen C ; Liu, Zhuoming ; Farnsworth, Christopher W ; Presti, Rachel M ; O'Halloran, Jane A ; Fox, Isabella F ; Sturtz, Alexandria J ; Strnad, Benjamin S ; Whelan, Sean P J ; Nestorova, Biliana ; Scheaffer, Suzanne M ; Klebert, Michael K ; Ying, Baoling ; Ellebedy, Ali H ; Turner, Jackson S ; Teefey, Sharlene A ; Paris, Robert ; Middleton, William D ; Nachbagauer, Raffael ; Schmitz, Aaron J ; Lei, Tingting ; Zhou, Julian Q ; Chalkias, Spyros ; Alsoussi, Wafaa B ; McIntire, Katherine M ; Han, Fangjie ; Diamond, Michael S ; Evavold, Birk ; Pusic, Iskra ; Parra-Rodriguez, Luis ; Kim, Wooseob
AbstractThe primary two-dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine series are strongly immunogenic in humans, but the emergence of highly infectious variants necessitated additional doses of these vaccines and the development of new variant-derived ones1–4. SARS-CoV-2 booster immunizations in humans primarily recruit pre-existing memory B cells (MBCs)5–9. It remains unclear, however, whether the additional doses induce germinal centre (GC) reactions where reengaged B cells can further mature and whether variant-derived vaccines can elicit responses to novel epitopes specific to such variants. Here, we show that boosting with the original SARS- CoV-2 spike vaccine (mRNA-1273) or a B.1.351/B.1.617.2 (Beta/Delta) bivalent vaccine (mRNA-1273.213) induces robust spike-specific GC B cell responses in humans. The GC response persisted for at least eight weeks, leading to significantly more mutated antigen-specific MBC and bone marrow plasma cell compartments. Interrogation of MBC-derived spike-binding monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) isolated from individuals boosted with either mRNA-1273, mRNA-1273.213, or a monovalent Omicron BA.1-based vaccine (mRNA-1273.529) revealed a striking imprinting effect by the primary vaccination series, with all mAbs (n=769) recognizing the original SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Nonetheless, using a more targeted approach, we isolated mAbs that recognized the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (BA.1) but not the original SARS-CoV-2 spike from the mRNA-1273.529 boosted individuals. The latter mAbs were less mutated and recognized novel epitopes within the spike protein, suggesting a naïve B cell origin. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 boosting in humans induce robust GC B cell responses, and immunization with an antigenically distant spike can overcome the antigenic imprinting by the primary vaccination series.