Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain-induced immune imprinting poses great challenges to updating vaccines for new variants. Studies showed that repeated Omicron exposures could override immune imprinting induced by inactivated vaccines but not mRNA vaccines, a disparity yet to be understood. Here, we analyzed the immune imprinting alleviation in inactivated vaccine (CoronaVac) cohorts after a long-term period following breakthrough infections (BTI). We observed in CoronaVac-vaccinated individuals who experienced BA.5/BF.7 BTI, the proportion of Omicron-specific memory B cells (MBCs) substantially increased after an extended period post-Omicron BTI, with their antibodies displaying enhanced somatic hypermutation and neutralizing potency. Consequently, the neutralizing antibody epitope distribution encoded by MBCs post-BA.5/BF.7 BTI after prolonged maturation closely mirrors that in BA.5/BF.7-infected unvaccinated individuals. Together, these results indicate the activation and expansion of Omicron-specific naïve B cells generated by first-time Omicron exposure helped to alleviate CoronaVac-induced immune imprinting, and the absence of this process should have caused the persistent immune imprinting seen in mRNA vaccine recipients.

Details

Title
Prolonged Omicron-specific B cell maturation alleviates immune imprinting induced by SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine
Author
Yisimayi, Ayijiang 1 ; Song, Weiliang 1 ; Wang, Jing 1 ; Fanchong Jian 1 ; Yu, Yuanling 2 ; Chen, Xiaosu 3 ; Xu, Yanli 4 ; An, Ran 2 ; Wang, Yao 2 ; Sun, Haiyan 2 ; Wang, Peng 2 ; Yu, Lingling 2 ; Shao, Fei 2 ; Jin, Ronghua 4 ; Shen, Zhongyang 5 ; Wang, Youchun 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cao, Yunlong 7 

1  Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC), School of Life Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Changping Laboratory, Beijing, People’s Republic of China 
2  Changping Laboratory, Beijing, People’s Republic of China 
3  Institute for Immunology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 
4  Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China 
5  Organ Transplant Center, NHC Key Laboratory for Critical Care Medicine, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Nankai University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 
6  Changping Laboratory, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Institute of Medical Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science & Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, People’s Republic of China 
7  Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC), School of Life Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Changping Laboratory, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Peking–Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China 
Publication year
2024
Publication date
Dec 2024
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd.
e-ISSN
22221751
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2024.2412623
ProQuest document ID
3142112673
Copyright
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group, on behalf of Shanghai Shangyixun Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons  Attribution – Non-Commercial License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.