Multi-compartmental diversification of neutralizing antibody lineages dissected in SARS-CoV-2 spike-immunized macaques

Abstract

The continued evolution of SARS-CoV-2 underscores the need to understand qualitative aspects of the humoral immune response elicited by spike immunization. Here, we combined monoclonal antibody (mAb) isolation with deep B cell receptor (BCR) repertoire sequencing of rhesus macaques immunized with prefusion-stabilized spike glycoprotein. Longitudinal tracing of spike-sorted B cell lineages in multiple immune compartments demonstrated increasing somatic hypermutation and broad dissemination of vaccine-elicited B cells in draining and non-draining lymphoid compartments, including the bone marrow, spleen and, most notably, periaortic lymph nodes. Phylogenetic analysis of spike-specific monoclonal antibody lineages identified through deep repertoire sequencing delineated extensive intra-clonal diversification that shaped neutralizing activity. Structural analysis of the spike in complex with a broadly neutralizing mAb provided a molecular basis for the observed differences in neutralization breadth between clonally related antibodies. Our findings highlight that immunization leads to extensive intra-clonal B cell evolution where members of the same lineage can both retain the original epitope specificity and evolve to recognize additional spike variants not previously encountered.