Anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain antibody evolution after mRNA vaccination

Alice Cho, Frauke Muecksch, Dennis Schaefer-Babajew, Zijun Wang, Shlomo Finkin, Christian Gaebler, Victor Ramos, Melissa Cipolla, Pilar Mendoza, Marianna Agudelo, Eva Bednarski, Justin DaSilva, Irina Shimeliovich, Juan Dizon, Mridushi Daga, Katrina G. Millard, Martina Turroja, Fabian Schmidt, Fengwen Zhang, Tarek Ben Tanfous, Mila Jankovic, Thiago Y. Oliveria, Anna Gazumyan, Marina Caskey (), Paul D. Bieniasz (), Theodora Hatziioannou () and Michel C. Nussenzweig ()
Additional contact information
Alice Cho: The Rockefeller University
Frauke Muecksch: The Rockefeller University
Dennis Schaefer-Babajew: The Rockefeller University
Zijun Wang: The Rockefeller University
Shlomo Finkin: The Rockefeller University
Christian Gaebler: The Rockefeller University
Victor Ramos: The Rockefeller University
Melissa Cipolla: The Rockefeller University
Pilar Mendoza: The Rockefeller University
Marianna Agudelo: The Rockefeller University
Eva Bednarski: The Rockefeller University
Justin DaSilva: The Rockefeller University
Irina Shimeliovich: The Rockefeller University
Juan Dizon: The Rockefeller University
Mridushi Daga: The Rockefeller University
Katrina G. Millard: The Rockefeller University
Martina Turroja: The Rockefeller University
Fabian Schmidt: The Rockefeller University
Fengwen Zhang: The Rockefeller University
Tarek Ben Tanfous: The Rockefeller University
Mila Jankovic: The Rockefeller University
Thiago Y. Oliveria: The Rockefeller University
Anna Gazumyan: The Rockefeller University
Marina Caskey: The Rockefeller University
Paul D. Bieniasz: The Rockefeller University
Theodora Hatziioannou: The Rockefeller University
Michel C. Nussenzweig: The Rockefeller University

Nature, 2021, vol. 600, issue 7889, 517-522

Abstract: Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection produces B cell responses that continue to evolve for at least a year. During that time, memory B cells express increasingly broad and potent antibodies that are resistant to mutations found in variants of concern1. As a result, vaccination of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent individuals with currently available mRNA vaccines produces high levels of plasma neutralizing activity against all variants tested1,2. Here we examine memory B cell evolution five months after vaccination with either Moderna (mRNA-1273) or Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) mRNA vaccine in a cohort of SARS-CoV-2-naive individuals. Between prime and boost, memory B cells produce antibodies that evolve increased neutralizing activity, but there is no further increase in potency or breadth thereafter. Instead, memory B cells that emerge five months after vaccination of naive individuals express antibodies that are similar to those that dominate the initial response. While individual memory antibodies selected over time by natural infection have greater potency and breadth than antibodies elicited by vaccination, the overall neutralizing potency of plasma is greater following vaccination. These results suggest that boosting vaccinated individuals with currently available mRNA vaccines will increase plasma neutralizing activity but may not produce antibodies with equivalent breadth to those obtained by vaccinating convalescent individuals.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04060-7

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