Analysis of B Cell Receptor Repertoires Reveals Key Signatures of the Systemic B Cell Response after SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Yudi Zhang, Qihong Yan, Kun Luo, Ping He, Ruitian Hou, Xinwei Zhao, Qian Wang, Haisu Yi, Huan Liang, Yijun Deng, Fengyu Hu, Feng Li, Xinglong Liu, Ying Feng, Pingchao Li, Linbing Qu, Zhaoming Chen, Qiang Pan‐Hammarström, Liqiang Feng, Xuefeng Niu, Ling Chen
Abstract
Although the canonical delineation of serum antibody responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection has been well established, the dynamics of antibody repertoire at the mRNA transcriptional level has not been well understood, especially the correlation between serum antibody titers and the antibody mRNA transcripts. In this study, we analyzed the IgH transcripts and characterized the B cell clonal expansion and differentiation, isotype switching, and somatic hypermutation in COVID-19 patients. This study provided insights at the repertoire level for the B cell response after SARS-CoV-2 infection.