Expansion of plasmablasts and loss of memory B cells in peripheral blood from COVID‐19 patients with pneumonia

Biasi, Sara De; Tartaro, Domenico Lo; Meschiari, Marianna; Gibellini, Lara; Bellinazzi, Caterina; Borella, Rebecca; Fidanza, Lucia; Mattioli, Marco; Paolini, Annamaria; Gozzi, Licia; Jaacoub, Dina; Faltoni, Matteo; Volpi, Sara; Milić, Jovana; Sita, Marco; Sarti, Mario; Pucillo, Carlo; Girardis, Massimo; Guaraldi, Giovanni; Mussini, Cristina; Cossarizza, Andrea

doi:10.1002/eji.202048838

Cited by 103 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…An expansion of the plasmablast population has also been noted after vaccination for influenza, hepatitis and other diseases 26 . The increase in the number of plasmablasts observed herein is also consistent with the recently reported findings on patients with COVID‐19 27–29 …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Pattern of circulating SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific antibody‐secreting and memory B‐cell generation in patients with acute COVID‐19

et al. 2021

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Objectives To predict the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID‐19), information regarding the immunological memory for disease‐specific antigens is necessary. The possibility of reinfection, as well as the efficacy of vaccines for COVID‐19 that are currently under development, will largely depend on the quality and longevity of immunological memory in patients. To elucidate the process of humoral immunity development, we analysed the generation of plasmablasts and virus receptor‐binding domain (RBD)‐specific memory B (Bmem) cells in patients during the acute phase of COVID‐19. Methods The frequencies of RBD‐binding plasmablasts and RBD‐specific antibody‐secreting cells (ASCs) in the peripheral blood samples collected from patients with COVID‐19 were measured using flow cytometry and the ELISpot assay. Results The acute phase of COVID‐19 was characterised by the transient appearance of total as well as RBD‐binding plasmablasts. ELISpot analysis indicated that most patients exhibited a spontaneous secretion of RBD‐specific ASCs in the circulation with good correlation between the IgG and IgM subsets. IL‐21/CD40L stimulation of purified B cells induced the activation and proliferation of Bmem cells, which led to the generation of plasmablast phenotypic cells as well as RBD‐specific ASCs. No correlation was observed between the frequency of Bmem cell‐derived and spontaneous ASCs, suggesting that the two types of ASCs were weakly associated with each other. Conclusion Our findings reveal that SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific Bmem cells are generated during the acute phase of COVID‐19. These findings can serve as a basis for further studies on the longevity of SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific B‐cell memory.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Pattern of circulating SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific antibody‐secreting and memory B‐cell generation in patients with acute COVID‐19

et al. 2021

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“…Severe and critical groups presented a decrease in USwM B cells while only severe patients exhibit a significant decrease in SwM, both cases compared to healthy donors. These observations reproduce what is documented in other COVID-19-related studies ( 39 , 40 , 44 , 45 ), proposing that this memory-decline could be the result of the activation of pre‐existing memory cells (specific for a coronavirus different from SARS‐CoV‐2), differentiating into “atypical” memory (CD27 - ) and/or ASC.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

B Cell Subsets as Severity-Associated Signatures in COVID-19 Patients

et al. 2020

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BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 infection represents a global health problem that has affected millions of people. The fine host immune response and its association with the disease course have not yet been fully elucidated. Consequently, we analyze circulating B cell subsets and their possible relationship with COVID-19 features and severity.MethodsUsing a multiparametric flow cytometric approach, we determined B cell subsets frequencies from 52 COVID-19 patients, grouped them by hierarchical cluster analysis, and correlated their values with clinical data.ResultsThe frequency of CD19+ B cells is increased in severe COVID-19 compared to mild cases. Specific subset frequencies such as transitional B cell subsets increase in mild/moderate cases but decrease with the severity of the disease. Memory B compartment decreased in severe and critical cases, and antibody-secreting cells are increased according to the severity of the disease. Other non-typical subsets such as double-negative B cells also showed significant changes according to disease severity. Globally, these differences allow us to identify severity-associated patient clusters with specific altered subsets. Finally, respiratory parameters, biomarkers of inflammation, and clinical scores exhibited correlations with some of these subpopulations.ConclusionsThe severity of COVID-19 is accompanied by changes in the B cell subpopulations, either immature or terminally differentiated. Furthermore, the existing relationship of B cell subset frequencies with clinical and laboratory parameters suggest that these lymphocytes could serve as potential biomarkers and even active participants in the adaptive antiviral response mounted against SARS-CoV-2.

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“…Interestingly, using a systems immunology approach, De Biasi et al 49 . also describe an association between the increase of plasmablasts and the cytokine storm in patients with a severe COVID‐19 course.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

B cell analysis in SARS-CoV-2 versus malaria: Increased frequencies of plasmablasts and atypical memory B cells in COVID-19

Wildner

Ahmadi

Schulte

et al. 2020

Journal of Leukocyte Biology

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B cells play a central role in antiviral and antiparasitic immunity, not only as producers of antibodies, but also as APCs and mediators of inflammation. In this study, we used 16‐color flow cytometry analysis to investigate the frequency, differentiation, and activation status of peripheral B cells of patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection or acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria compared with the healthy individuals. As a main result, we observed an increase of the frequency of (CD27–, CD21–) atypical memory B cells and (CD19+, CD27+, CD38+) plasmablasts in malaria and COVID‐19 patients. Additionally, CD86, PD‐1, CXCR3, and CD39 expression was up‐regulated, whereas CD73 was down‐regulated on plasmablasts of COVID‐19 and malaria patients compared with the bulk B cell population. In particular, there was a more pronounced loss of CD73+ B cells in malaria. The frequency of plasmablasts positively correlated with serum levels of CRP, IL‐6, and LDH of COVID‐19 patients. In the longitudinal course of COVID‐19, a rapid normalization of the frequency of atypical memory B cells was observed. The role and function of plasmablasts and atypical memory B cells in COVID‐19 and other acute infections remain to be further investigated. The role of B cells as either “driver or passenger” of hyperinflammation during COVID‐19 needs to be clarified.

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Expansion of plasmablasts and loss of memory B cells in peripheral blood from COVID‐19 patients with pneumonia

Cited by 103 publications

References 32 publications

Pattern of circulating SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific antibody‐secreting and memory B‐cell generation in patients with acute COVID‐19

Pattern of circulating SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific antibody‐secreting and memory B‐cell generation in patients with acute COVID‐19

B Cell Subsets as Severity-Associated Signatures in COVID-19 Patients

B cell analysis in SARS-CoV-2 versus malaria: Increased frequencies of plasmablasts and atypical memory B cells in COVID-19

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