Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infection drives cross-variant neutralization and memory B cell formation against conserved epitopes.

ABSTRACT: Omicron is the evolutionarily most distinct severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant of concern (VOC) to date. We report that Omicron BA.1 breakthrough infection in BNT162b2-vaccinated individuals resulted in strong neutralizing activity against Omicron BA.1, BA.2, and previous SARS-CoV-2 VOCs but not against the Omicron sublineages BA.4 and BA.5. BA.1 breakthrough infection induced a robust recall response, primarily expanding memory B (B_MEM) cells against epitopes shared broadly among variants, rather than inducing BA.1-specific B cells. The vaccination-imprinted B_MEM cell pool had sufficient plasticity to be remodeled by heterologous SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein exposure. Whereas selective amplification of B_MEM cells recogniz

SUBMITTER: Quandt J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9162083 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature