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
Data obtained on SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron suggest that Omicron poses an increased risk of symptomatic breakthrough infections in people who receive only 2 doses of mRNA-1273. Administration of a booster mRNA vaccine may substantially reduce this risk.