Journal Article

Evolution of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in mild-moderate COVID-19

Kent, Stephen J., Subbarao, Kanta, Davis, Samantha K., Kent, Helen E., Wheatley, Adam K., Tan, Hyon-Xhi, Juno, Jennifer A., Schlub, Timothy E., Kelly, Hannah G., Cromer, Deborah, Reynaldi, Arnold, Esterbauer, Robyn, Khoury, David S., Wragg, Kathleen M., Davenport, Miles P., Chung, Amy W., Selva, Kevin J., Lee, Wen Shi, Gordon, David L., Wang, Jing J., Gordon, Tom P., Mordant, Francesca L.

2021

Overview

The durability of infection-induced SARS-CoV-2 immunity has major implications for reinfection and vaccine development. Here, we show a comprehensive profile of antibody, B cell and T cell dynamics over time in a cohort of patients who have recovered from mild-moderate COVID-19. Binding and neutralising antibody responses, together with individual serum clonotypes, decay over the first 4 months post-infection. A similar decline in Spike-specific CD4 + and circulating T follicular helper frequencies occurs. By contrast, S-specific IgG + memory B cells consistently accumulate over time, eventually comprising a substantial fraction of circulating the memory B cell pool. Modelling of the concomitant immune kinetics predicts maintenance of serological neutralising activity above a titre of 1:40 in 50% of convalescent participants to 74 days, although there is probably additive protection from B cell and T cell immunity. This study indicates that SARS-CoV-2 immunity after infection might be transiently protective at a population level. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines might require greater immunogenicity and durability than natural infection to drive long-term protection. Longitudinal analyses are needed to show how the immune response to Sars-Cov-2 infection changes over time. Here, the authors use multiple strategies to profile the change in immune cell responses from patients with convalescent COVID-19 over the course of ~5 months, showing that although neutralizing antibody responses drop off after ~4 months, B cell immune responses strengthen.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 13/1 / 13/31 / 631/250/1619/554/1898 / 631/250/2152/2153/1571 / 631/250/255/2514 / Antibodies / Antibodies, Neutralizing - blood / Antibodies, Neutralizing - immunology / Antibodies, Viral - blood / Antibodies, Viral - immunology / Antibody Formation / B-Lymphocytes - immunology / CD4 antigen / CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology / Coronaviruses / COVID-19 / COVID-19 - immunology / Durability / Humanities and Social Sciences / Humans / Immune response / Immune response (cell-mediated) / Immune system / Immunity / Immunity, Cellular / Immunogenicity / Immunoglobulin G / Immunoglobulin G - immunology / Immunologic Memory / Immunological memory / Infections / Longitudinal Studies / Lymphocytes / Lymphocytes B / Lymphocytes T / Memory cells / Models, Theoretical / multidisciplinary / Neutralization Tests / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 / T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer - immunology / Vaccine development / Vaccines