Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection enhances and reshapes spike protein–specific memory induced by vaccination
Véronique Barateau, Loïc Peyrot, Carla Saade, Bruno Pozzetto, Karen Brengel‐Pesce, Mad‐Hélénie Elsensohn, Omran Allatif, Nicolas Guibert, Christelle Compagnon, Natacha Mariano, Julie Chaix, Sophia Djebali, Jean‐Baptiste Fassier, Bruno Lina, Katia Lefsihane, Maxime Espi, Olivier Thaunat, Jacqueline Marvel, Manuel Rosa‐Calatrava, Andrés Pizzorno, Delphine Maucort‐Boulch, Laetitia Hénaff, Mitra Saadatian‐Elahi, Philippe Vanhems, Stéphane Paul, Thierry Walzer, Sophie Trouillet‐Assant, Thierry Defrance
Abstract
The diversity of vaccination modalities and infection history are both variables that have an impact on the immune memory of individuals vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. To gain more accurate knowledge of how these parameters imprint on immune memory, we conducted a long-term follow-up of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein–specific immune memory in unvaccinated and vaccinated COVID-19 convalescent individuals as well as in infection-naïve vaccinated individuals. Here, we report that individuals from the convalescent vaccinated (hybrid immunity) group have the highest concentrations of spike protein–specific antibodies at 6 months after vaccination. As compared with infection-naïve vaccinated individuals, they also display increased frequencies of an atypical mucosa-targeted memory B cell subset. These individuals also exhibited enhanced T H 1 polarization of their SARS-CoV-2 spike protein–specific follicular T helper cell pool. Together, our data suggest that prior SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the titers of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein–specific antibody responses elicited by subsequent vaccination and induces modifications in the composition of the spike protein–specific memory B cell pool that are compatible with enhanced functional protection at mucosal sites.