Atypical and non-classical CD45RBlo memory B cells are the majority of circulating SARS-CoV-2 specific B cells following mRNA vaccination or COVID-19
Resting memory B cells can be divided into classical or atypical groups, but the heterogenous marker expression on activated memory B cells makes similar classification difficult. Here, by longitudinal analysis of mass cytometry and CITE-seq data from cohorts with COVID-19, bacterial sepsis, or BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, we observe that resting B cell memory consist of classical CD45RB<sup>+</sup> memory and CD45RB<sup>lo</sup> memory, of which the latter contains of two distinct groups of CD11c<sup>+</sup> atypical and CD23<sup>+</sup> non-classical memory cells. CD45RB levels remain stable in these cells after activation, thereby enabling the tracking of activated B cells and plasmablasts derived from either CD45RB<sup>+</sup> or CD45RB<sup>lo</sup> memory B cells. Moreover, in both COVID-19 patients and mRNA vaccination, CD45RB<sup>lo</sup> B cells formed the majority of SARS-CoV2 specific memory B cells and correlated with serum antibodies, while CD45RB<sup>+</sup> memory are activated by bacterial sepsis. Our results thus identify that stably expressed CD45RB levels can be exploited to trace resting memory B cells and their activated progeny, and suggest that atypical and non-classical CD45RB<sup>lo</sup> memory B cells contribute to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination.
Authors
- Shinya Onishi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0126-2320)
- Jumpei Yoshimura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4092-8140)
- Fuminori Sugihara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6228-4593)
- Shunichiro Nakao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5530-806X)
- Jun Oda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8254-3716)
- Jonas Nørskov Søndergaard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4438-6756)
- Yumi Mitsuyama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6272-6910)
- Hiroshi Ogura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5013-2445)
- Shuhei Sakakibara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3157-5870)
- Janyerkye Tulyeu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1473-5561)
- James B. Wing (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3462-1003)
- Takeshi Ebihara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4101-0419)
- Hiroshi Itô (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1029-5730)
- Arisa Muratsu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7035-7684)
- Hisatake Matsumoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5771-570X)
- David G. Priest (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0095-6718)
- Yuki Togami
- Daisuke Okusaki
Institutions
- Osaka City General Hospital (JP)
- Graduate School of Health Care Sciences, Jikei Institute (JP)
- Osaka International University (JP)
- The University of Osaka (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-08-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50997-4
- Citations
- 17
- Primary Topic
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.61
Funders
- Takeda Science Foundation
- Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
- Nippon Foundation