Repeated COVID-19 vaccine boosters elicit variant-specific memory B cells in humans.

ABSTRACT: The first exposure to a pathogen or an antigen profoundly impacts immune responses upon subsequent encounter with related pathogens. This immune imprinting explains that infection or vaccination with currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants primarily recalls cross-reactive memory B cells and antibodies induced by prior Wu spike (S) glycoprotein exposure rather than priming de novo responses. The magnitude and persistence of immune imprinting in mRNA vaccinated populations and the prospect to overcome it are not understood. To understand the impact of immune imprinting, we investigated memory B cell and plasma antibody responses after administration of multiple doses of XBB.1.5 and JN.1/KP.2 updated COVID-19 vaccine boosters. We found that administration of the JN.1/KP.2 booster eli

SUBMITTER: Tortorici MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12633353 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature