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Wolf C, Köppert S, Becza N, Kuerten S, Kirchenbaum GA, Lehmann PV. Antibody Levels Poorly Reflect on the Frequency of Memory B Cells Generated following SARS-CoV-2, Seasonal Influenza, or EBV Infection. Cells 2022; 11:cells11223662. [PMID: 36429090 PMCID: PMC9688940 DOI: 10.3390/cells11223662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The scope of immune monitoring is to define the existence, magnitude, and quality of immune mechanisms operational in a host. In clinical trials and praxis, the assessment of humoral immunity is commonly confined to measurements of serum antibody reactivity without accounting for the memory B cell potential. Relying on fundamentally different mechanisms, however, passive immunity conveyed by pre-existing antibodies needs to be distinguished from active B cell memory. Here, we tested whether, in healthy human individuals, the antibody titers to SARS-CoV-2, seasonal influenza, or Epstein-Barr virus antigens correlated with the frequency of recirculating memory B cells reactive with the respective antigens. Weak correlations were found. The data suggest that the assessment of humoral immunity by measurement of antibody levels does not reflect on memory B cell frequencies and thus an individual's potential to engage in an anamnestic antibody response against the same or an antigenically related virus. Direct monitoring of the antigen-reactive memory B cell compartment is both required and feasible towards that goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Wolf
- Research and Development, Cellular Technology Ltd. (CTL), Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Köppert
- Research and Development, Cellular Technology Ltd. (CTL), Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Noémi Becza
- Research and Development, Cellular Technology Ltd. (CTL), Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA
| | - Stefanie Kuerten
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- Institute of Neuroanatomy, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Greg A. Kirchenbaum
- Research and Development, Cellular Technology Ltd. (CTL), Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA
| | - Paul V. Lehmann
- Research and Development, Cellular Technology Ltd. (CTL), Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(216)-791-5084
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Köppert S, Wolf C, Becza N, Sautto GA, Franke F, Kuerten S, Ross TM, Lehmann PV, Kirchenbaum GA. Affinity Tag Coating Enables Reliable Detection of Antigen-Specific B Cells in Immunospot Assays. Cells 2021; 10:cells10081843. [PMID: 34440612 PMCID: PMC8394687 DOI: 10.3390/cells10081843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Assessment of humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious agents is typically restricted to detecting antigen-specific antibodies in the serum. Rarely does immune monitoring entail assessment of the memory B-cell compartment itself, although it is these cells that engage in secondary antibody responses capable of mediating immune protection when pre-existing antibodies fail to prevent re-infection. There are few techniques that are capable of detecting rare antigen-specific B cells while also providing information regarding their relative abundance, class/subclass usage and functional affinity. In theory, the ELISPOT/FluoroSpot (collectively ImmunoSpot) assay platform is ideally suited for antigen-specific B-cell assessments since it provides this information at single-cell resolution for individual antibody-secreting cells (ASC). Here, we tested the hypothesis that antigen-coating efficiency could be universally improved across a diverse set of viral antigens if the standard direct (non-specific, low affinity) antigen absorption to the membrane was substituted by high-affinity capture. Specifically, we report an enhancement in assay sensitivity and a reduction in required protein concentrations through the capture of recombinant proteins via their encoded hexahistidine (6XHis) affinity tag. Affinity tag antigen coating enabled detection of SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor binding domain (RBD)-reactive ASC, and also significantly improved assay performance using additional control antigens. Collectively, establishment of a universal antigen-coating approach streamlines characterization of the memory B-cell compartment after SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccinations, and facilitates high-throughput immune-monitoring efforts of large donor cohorts in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Köppert
- Research & Development Department, Cellular Technology Limited, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA; (S.K.); (C.W.); (N.B.); (F.F.); (P.V.L.)
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Carla Wolf
- Research & Development Department, Cellular Technology Limited, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA; (S.K.); (C.W.); (N.B.); (F.F.); (P.V.L.)
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Noémi Becza
- Research & Development Department, Cellular Technology Limited, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA; (S.K.); (C.W.); (N.B.); (F.F.); (P.V.L.)
| | - Giuseppe A. Sautto
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; (G.A.S.); (T.M.R.)
| | - Fridolin Franke
- Research & Development Department, Cellular Technology Limited, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA; (S.K.); (C.W.); (N.B.); (F.F.); (P.V.L.)
| | - Stefanie Kuerten
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
- Institute of Neuroanatomy, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Ted M. Ross
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; (G.A.S.); (T.M.R.)
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Paul V. Lehmann
- Research & Development Department, Cellular Technology Limited, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA; (S.K.); (C.W.); (N.B.); (F.F.); (P.V.L.)
| | - Greg A. Kirchenbaum
- Research & Development Department, Cellular Technology Limited, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, USA; (S.K.); (C.W.); (N.B.); (F.F.); (P.V.L.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(216)-791-5084
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Neumann E, Zimmermann B, Köppert S, Rehart S, Müller-Ladner U. SAT0555 Transmigration and Mobility of Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovial Fibroblasts is Dependent on Distinct Interaction Processes with Endothelial Cells. Ann Rheum Dis 2014. [DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.2471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Zimmermann B, Köppert S, Lefèvre S, Rehart S, Müller-Ladner U, Neumann E. A1.17 Analysis of two essential sub-processes of long distance migration of synovial fibroblasts from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2014. [DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-205124.16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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