Primary exposure to SARS-CoV-2 variants elicits convergent epitope specificities, immunoglobulin V gene usage and public B cell clones

An important consequence of infection with a SARS-CoV-2 variant is protective humoral immunity against other variants. However, the basis for such cross-protection at the molecular level is incompletely understood. Here, we characterized the repertoire and epitope specificity of antibodies elicited by infection with the Beta, Gamma and WA1 ancestral variants and assessed their cross-reactivity to these and the more recent Delta and Omicron variants. We developed a method to obtain immunoglobulin sequences with concurrent rapid production and functional assessment of monoclonal antibodies from hundreds of single B cells sorted by flow cytometry. Infection with any variant elicited similar cross-binding antibody responses exhibiting a conserved hierarchy of epitope immunodominance. Furthermore, convergent V gene usage and similar public B cell clones were elicited regardless of infecting variant. These convergent responses despite antigenic variation may account for the continued efficacy of vaccines based on a single ancestral variant.

Automated summary

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants leads to protective humoral immunity against other variants. The molecular basis for this cross-protection is not fully understood. This study reveals that infection with different variants elicits similar antibody responses and convergent V gene usage, which may explain the continued efficacy of vaccines based on a single ancestral variant.