CD62L expression marks SARS-CoV-2 memory B cell subset with preference for neutralizing epitopes

• Published in: Science advances Vol. 9; no. 24; p. eadf0661
• Main Authors: Onodera, Taishi, Sax, Nicolas, Sato, Takashi, Adachi, Yu, Kotaki, Ryutaro, Inoue, Takeshi, Shinnakasu, Ryo, Nakagawa, Takayuki, Fukushi, Shuetsu, Terooatea, Tommy, Yoshikawa, Mai, Tonouchi, Keisuke, Nagakura, Takaki, Moriyama, Saya, Matsumura, Takayuki, Isogawa, Masanori, Terahara, Kazutaka, Takano, Tomohiro, Sun, Lin, Nishiyama, Ayae, Omoto, Shinnya, Shinkai, Masaharu, Kurosaki, Tomohiro, Yamashita, Kazuo, Takahashi, Yoshimasa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association for the Advancement of Science 16.06.2023
• Subjects: Antibodies, Neutralizing; Antibodies, Viral; B-Lymphocyte Subsets; Biomedicine and Life Sciences; Coronavirus; COVID-19; Epitopes; Humans; Immunology; L-Selectin; Microbiology; SARS-CoV-2; SciAdv r-articles
• ISSN: 2375-2548; 2375-2548
• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf0661

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2–neutralizing antibodies primarily target the spike receptor binding domain (RBD). However, B cell antigen receptors (BCRs) on RBD-binding memory B (B mem ) cells have variation in the neutralizing activities. Here, by combining single B mem cell profiling with antibody functional assessment, we dissected the phenotype of B mem cell harboring the potently neutralizing antibodies in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–convalescent individuals. The neutralizing subset was marked by an elevated CD62L expression and characterized by distinct epitope preference and usage of convergent V H (variable region of immunoglobulin heavy chain) genes, accounting for the neutralizing activities. Concordantly, the correlation was observed between neutralizing antibody titers in blood and CD62L + subset, despite the equivalent RBD binding of CD62L + and CD62L − subset. Furthermore, the kinetics of CD62L + subset differed between the patients who recovered from different COVID-19 severities. Our B mem cell profiling reveals the unique phenotype of B mem cell subset that harbors potently neutralizing BCRs, advancing our understanding of humoral protection. Phenotypic profiling of SARS-CoV-2 memory B-cells reveals neutralizing subset.