Diverse Humoral Immune Responses in Younger and Older Adult COVID-19 Patients
Jennifer Sasson, Joseph J. Campo, Rebecca M. Carpenter, Mary K. Young, Arlo Randall, Krista Trappl-Kimmons, Amit Oberai, Christopher Hung, Joshua Edgar, Andy Teng, Jozelyn Pablo, Xiaowu Liang, Angela Yee, William A. Petri, David Camerini
Abstract
As numerous viral variants continue to emerge in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, determining antibody reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 epitopes becomes essential in discerning changes in the immune response to infection over time. This study enabled us to identify specific areas of antigenicity within the SARS-CoV-2 proteome, allowing us to detect correlations of epitopes with clinical metadata and immunological signals to gain holistic insight into SARS-CoV-2 infection. This work also emphasized the risk of mutation accumulation in viral variants and the potential for evasion of the adaptive immune responses in the event of reinfection. We additionally highlighted the correlation of antigenicity between structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and endemic HCoVs, raising the possibility of cross-protection between homologous lineages. Finally, we identified a subset of patients with minimal antibody reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 infection, prompting discussion of the potential consequences of this alternative immune response.