Frontiers in Immunology (Feb 2023)

Complementarity determining regions in SARS-CoV-2 hybrid immunity

  • Glynis Frans,
  • Doreen Dillaerts,
  • Tom Dehaemers,
  • Jan Van Elslande,
  • Jonas De Leeuw,
  • Lise Boon,
  • Wim Maes,
  • Nico Callewaert,
  • Bas Calcoen,
  • Lina Ancheva,
  • Maaike Cockx,
  • Nick Geukens,
  • Kusay Arat,
  • Rita Derua,
  • Rita Derua,
  • Pieter Vermeersch,
  • Pieter Vermeersch,
  • Sebastien Christian Carpentier,
  • Xavier Bossuyt,
  • Xavier Bossuyt

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1050037
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

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Pre-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection can boost protection elicited by COVID-19 vaccination and post-vaccination breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection can boost existing immunity conferred by COVID-19 vaccination. Such ‘hybrid immunity’ is effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants. In order to understand ‘hybrid immunity’ at the molecular level we studied the complementarity determining regions (CDR) of anti-RBD (receptor binding domain) antibodies isolated from individuals with ‘hybrid immunity’ as well as from ‘naive’ (not SARS-CoV-2 infected) vaccinated individuals. CDR analysis was done by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis and partial least square differential analysis showed that COVID-19 vaccinated people share CDR profiles and that pre-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection or breakthrough infection further shape the CDR profile, with a CDR profile in hybrid immunity that clustered away from the CDR profile in vaccinated people without infection. Thus, our results show a CDR profile in hybrid immunity that is distinct from the vaccination-induced CDR profile.

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