J. Guthmiller, O. Stovicek, Jiaolong Wang, Siriruk Changrob, L. Li, P. Halfmann, Nai-Ying Zheng, H. Utset, Christopher T. Stamper, H. Dugan, W. Miller, Min Huang, Y. Dai, C. Nelson, Paige D. Hall, M. Jansen, K. Shanmugarajah, J. Donington, F. Krammer, D. Fremont, A. Joachimiak, Y. Kawaoka, V. Tesic, M. Madariaga, P. Wilson
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2020
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently causing a global pandemic. The antigen specificity and kinetics of the antibody response mounted against this novel virus are not understood in detail. Here, we report that subjects with a more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection exhibit a larger antibody response against the spike and nucleocapsid protein and epitope spreading to subdominant viral antigens, such as open reading frame 8 and non-structural proteins. Subjects with a greater antibody response mounted a larger memory B cell response against the spike, but not the nucleocapsid protein. Additionally, we revealed that antibodies against the spike are still capable of binding the D614G spike mutant and cross-react with the SARS-CoV-1 receptor binding domain. Together, this study reveals that subjects with a more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection exhibit a greater overall antibody response to the spike and nucleocapsid protein and a larger memory B cell response against the spike.
Cited by 30 publications.
Field of study: Biology