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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.12.01.407015

Shared B cell memory to coronaviruses and other pathogens varies in human age groups and tissues

Yang, F.·Nielsen, S. A.·Hoh, R. A.·Lee, J.-Y.·Pham, T. D.·Jackson, K. J. L.·Roskin, K. M.·Liu, Y.·Ohgami, R. S.·Osborne, E. M.·Niemann, C. U.·Parsonnet, J.·Boyd, S. D.
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Abstract

Vaccination and infection promote the formation, tissue distribution, and clonal evolution of B cells encoding humoral immune memory. We evaluated convergent antigen-specific antibody genes of similar sequences shared between individuals in pediatric and adult blood, and deceased organ donor tissues. B cell memory varied for different pathogens. Polysaccharide antigen-specific clones were not exclusive to the spleen. Adults convergent clones often express mutated IgM or IgD in blood and are class-switched in lymphoid tissues; in contrast, children have abundant class-switched convergent clones in blood. Consistent with serological reports, pre-pandemic children had class-switched convergent clones to SARS-CoV-2, enriched in cross-reactive clones for seasonal coronaviruses, while adults showed few such clones in blood or lymphoid tissues. These results extend age-related and anatomical mapping of human humoral pathogen-specific immunity. One Sentence SummaryChildren have elevated frequencies of pathogen-specific class-switched memory B cells, including SARS-CoV-2-binding clones.

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Yang, F., Nielsen, S. A., Hoh, R. A., Lee, J.-Y., Pham, T. D., Jackson, K. J. L., Roskin, K. M., Liu, Y., Ohgami, R. S., Osborne, E. M., Niemann, C. U., Parsonnet, J., Boyd, S. D.. 2020-12-02. Shared B cell memory to coronaviruses and other pathogens varies in human age groups and tissues. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.01.407015

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