ABSTRACT
While humoral immune responses to infection or vaccination with ancestral SARS-CoV-2 have been well-characterized, responses elicited by infection with variants are less understood. Here we characterized the repertoire, epitope specificity, and cross-reactivity of antibodies elicited by Beta and Gamma variant infection compared to ancestral virus. We developed a high-throughput approach to obtain single-cell immunoglobulin sequences and isolate monoclonal antibodies for functional assessment. Spike-, RBD- and NTD-specific antibodies elicited by Beta- or Gamma-infection exhibited a remarkably similar hierarchy of epitope immunodominance for RBD and convergent V gene usage when compared to ancestral virus infection. Additionally, similar public B cell clones were elicited regardless of infecting variant. These convergent responses may account for the broad cross-reactivity and continued efficacy of vaccines based on a single ancestral variant.
Subject(s)
Tumor Virus InfectionsABSTRACT
We assessed the annual occurrence and diversity of respiratory pathogens in SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative patients admitted due to acute respiratory illness (ARI). A multiplex-PCR panel targeting 23 microorganisms detected other respiratory pathogens in only 8/476 (2%) COVID-19 versus 87/463 (19%) non-COVID-19 ARI patients. Diversity and rates of pathogens vastly differed from previous years yet showed seasonal variance.