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SARS-CoV-2 infection induces germinal center responses with robust stimulation of CD4 T follicular helper cells in rhesus macaques.

ABSTRACT: CD4 T follicular helper (T _fh ) cells are important for the generation of long-lasting and specific humoral protection against viral infections. The degree to which SARS-CoV-2 infection generates T _fh cells and stimulates the germinal center response is an important question as we investigate vaccine options for the current pandemic. Here we report that, following infection with SARS-CoV-2, adult rhesus macaques exhibited transient accumulation of activated, proliferating T _fh cells in their peripheral blood on a transitory basis. The CD4 helper cell responses were skewed predominantly toward a T _h 1 response in blood, lung, and lymph nodes, reflective of the interferon-rich cytokine environment following infection. We also observed the generation of germinal center T _fh cells specific for the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins, and a corresponding early appearance of antiviral serum IgG antibodies but delayed or absent IgA antibodies. Our data suggest that a vaccine promoting Th1-type Tfh responses that target the S protein may lead to protective immunity.

SUBMITTER: Elizaldi SR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7359530 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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SARS-CoV-2 infection induces germinal center responses with robust stimulation of CD4 T follicular helper cells in rhesus macaques.

Elizaldi Sonny R SR Lakshmanappa Yashavanth Shaan YS Roh Jamin W JW Schmidt Brian A BA Carroll Timothy D TD Weaver Kourtney D KD Smith Justin C JC Deere Jesse D JD Dutra Joseph J Stone Mars M Sammak Rebecca Lee RL Olstad Katherine J KJ Reader J Rachel JR Ma Zhong-Min ZM Nguyen Nancy K NK Watanabe Jennifer J Usachaenko Jodie J Immareddy Ramya R Yee JoAnn L JL Weiskopf Daniela D Sette Alessandro A Hartigan-O'Connor Dennis D McSorley Stephen J SJ Morrison John H JH Tran Nam K NK Simmons Graham G Busch Michael P MP Kozlowski Pamela A PA Van Rompay Koen K A KKA Miller Christopher J CJ Iyer Smita S SS

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 20200708

CD4 T follicular helper (T <sub>fh</sub> ) cells are important for the generation of long-lasting and specific humoral protection against viral infections. The degree to which SARS-CoV-2 infection generates T <sub>fh</sub> cells and stimulates the germinal center response is an important question as we investigate vaccine options for the current pandemic. Here we report that, following infection with SARS-CoV-2, adult rhesus macaques exhibited transient accumulation of activated, proliferating T ...[more]

PMID: 32676606

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Project description:Global elimination of pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections will require the development of novel immune-based approaches, and understanding infant immunity to HIV is critical to guide the rational design of these intervention strategies. Despite their immunological immaturity, chronically HIV-infected children develop broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) more frequently and earlier than adults do. However, the ontogeny of humoral responses during acute HIV infection is poorly defined in infants and challenging to study in human cohorts due to the presence of maternal antibodies. To further our understanding of age-related differences in the development of HIV-specific immunity during acute infection, we evaluated the generation of virus-specific humoral immune responses in infant (n = 6) and adult (n = 12) rhesus macaques (RMs) infected with a transmitted/founder (T/F) simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) (SHIV.C.CH505 [CH505]). The plasma HIV envelope-specific IgG antibody kinetics were similar in SHIV-infected infant and adult RMs, with no significant differences in the magnitude or breadth of these responses. Interestingly, autologous tier 2 virus neutralization responses also developed with similar frequencies and kinetics in infant and adult RMs, despite infants exhibiting significantly higher follicular T helper cell (Tfh) and germinal center B cell frequencies than adults. Finally, we show that plasma viral load was the strongest predictor of the development of autologous virus neutralization in both age groups. Our results indicate that the humoral immune response to SHIV infection develops with similar kinetics among infant and adult RMs, suggesting that the early-life immune system is equipped to respond to HIV-1 and promote the production of neutralizing HIV antibodies.IMPORTANCE There is a lack of understanding of how the maturation of the infant immune system influences immunity to HIV infection or how these responses differ from those of adults. Improving our knowledge of infant HIV immunity will help guide antiviral intervention strategies that take advantage of the unique infant immune environment to successfully elicit protective immune responses. We utilized a rhesus macaque model of SHIV infection as a tool to distinguish the differences in HIV humoral immunity in infants versus adults. Here, we demonstrate that the kinetics and quality of the infant humoral immune response to HIV are highly comparable to those of adults during the early phase of infection, despite distinct differences in their Tfh responses, indicating that slightly different mechanisms may drive infant and adult humoral immunity.

Project description:Generating durable humoral immunity through vaccination depends upon effective interactions of follicular helper T (Tfh) cells with germinal center (GC) B cells. Th1 polarization of Tfh cells is an important process shaping the success of Tfh-GC B cell interactions by influencing costimulatory and cytokine-dependent Tfh help to B cells. However, the question remains as to whether adjuvant-dependent modulation of Tfh cells enhances HIV-1 vaccine-induced antienvelope (anti-Env) antibody responses. We investigated whether an HIV-1 vaccine platform designed to increase the number of Th1-polarized Tfh cells enhances the magnitude and quality of anti-Env antibodies. Utilizing a novel interferon-induced protein 10 (IP-10)-adjuvanted HIV-1 DNA prime followed by a monophosphoryl lipid A and QS-21 (MPLA+QS-21)-adjuvanted Env protein boost (DIP-10 PALFQ) in macaques, we observed higher anti-Env serum IgG titers with greater cross-clade reactivity, specificity for V1V2, and effector functions than in macaques primed with DNA lacking IP-10 and boosted with MPLA-plus-alum-adjuvanted Env protein (DPALFA) The DIP-10 PALFQ vaccine regimen elicited higher anti-Env IgG1 and lower IgG4 antibody levels in serum, showing for the first time that adjuvants can dramatically impact the IgG subclass profile in macaques. The DIP-10 PALFQ regimen also increased vaginal and rectal IgA antibodies to a greater extent. Within lymph nodes, we observed augmented GC B cell responses and the promotion of Th1 gene expression profiles in GC Tfh cells. The frequency of GC Tfh cells correlated with both the magnitude and avidity of anti-Env serum IgG. Together, these data suggest that adjuvant-induced stimulation of Th1-Tfh cells is an effective strategy for enhancing the magnitude and quality of anti-Env antibody responses.IMPORTANCE The results of the RV144 trial demonstrated that vaccination could prevent HIV transmission in humans and that longevity of anti-Env antibodies may be key to this protection. Efforts to improve upon the prime-boost vaccine regimen used in RV144 have indicated that booster immunizations can increase serum anti-Env antibody titers but only transiently. Poor antibody durability hampers efforts to develop an effective HIV-1 vaccine. This study was designed to identify the specific elements involved in the immunological mechanism necessary to produce robust HIV-1-specific antibodies in rhesus macaques. By clearly defining immune-mediated pathways that improve the magnitude and functionality of the anti-HIV-1 antibody response, we will have the foundation necessary for the rational development of an HIV-1 vaccine.

Dataset Information

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces germinal center responses with robust stimulation of CD4 T follicular helper cells in rhesus macaques.

Publications

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces germinal center responses with robust stimulation of CD4 T follicular helper cells in rhesus macaques.

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