Comparison of antigen-specific B cell responses reveals disparity in immunogenicity and memory B cell formation across COVID-19 vaccine platforms
Chang Guo,
Xin Chai,
Maidaiti Baerlike,
Yingping Liu,
Yao Wang,
Fei Shao,
Qingrui Huang,
Weiguo Zhang,
Shan Cen,
Yijie Dong,
Yunlong Cao,
Jinghua Yan,
Xuyu Zhou,
Zhaolin Hua,
Baidong Hou
Affiliations
Chang Guo
Key Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulation and Intervention, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China
Xin Chai
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Savaid Medical School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Maidaiti Baerlike
Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China
Yingping Liu
Key Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulation and Intervention, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Yao Wang
Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China
Fei Shao
Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China
Qingrui Huang
Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China
Weiguo Zhang
RinuaGene Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Jiangsu, China
Shan Cen
Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
Yijie Dong
RinuaGene Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Jiangsu, China
Yunlong Cao
Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China; Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC), School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
Jinghua Yan
Changping Laboratory, Beijing, China
Xuyu Zhou
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Savaid Medical School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Zhaolin Hua
Key Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulation and Intervention, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Correspondence:
Baidong Hou
Key Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulation and Intervention, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Correspondence:
Various vaccine technologies have been employed in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, including whole inactivated virus (WIV), recombinant protein, mRNA, and nanoparticle vaccines. To elucidate the cellular mechanisms underlying the immune responses elicited by different vaccines, we examined and compared antigen-specific B cell responses targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the viral spike protein. We found that the nanoparticle vaccine pathogen-like antigens-RBD (PLA-RBD) and the mRNA vaccine demonstrated superior immunogenicity compared with the WIV vaccine and the RBD-dimer, a recombinant protein vaccine. Interestingly, the WIV vaccine contains toll-like receptor ligands that enhance IgG2a/c class-switching. For the mRNA vaccine, although it induces robust germinal center responses and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, it has limited ability to induce memory B cells and long-lived plasma cells. These results indicate that vaccine formats significantly influence both the quantity and quality of immune responses, providing valuable insights for the future development of vaccines.
