Author:
Cohen Kristen W.,Linderman Susanne L.,Moodie Zoe,Czartoski Julie,Lai Lilin,Mantus Grace,Norwood Carson,Nyhoff Lindsay E.,Edara Venkata Viswanadh,Floyd Katharine,De Rosa Stephen C.,Ahmed Hasan,Whaley Rachael,Patel Shivan N.,Prigmore Brittany,Lemos Maria P.,Davis Carl W.,Furth Sarah,O’Keefe James,Gharpure Mohini P.,Gunisetty Sivaram,Stephens Kathy A.,Antia Rustom,Zarnitsyna Veronika I.,Stephens David S.,Edupuganti Srilatha,Rouphael Nadine,Anderson Evan J.,Mehta Aneesh K.,Wrammert Jens,Suthar Mehul S.,Ahmed Rafi,Juliana McElrath M.
Abstract
SUMMARYEnding the COVID-19 pandemic will require long-lived immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Here, we evaluate 254 COVID-19 patients longitudinally up to eight months and find durable broad-based immune responses. SARS-CoV-2 spike binding and neutralizing antibodies exhibit a bi-phasic decay with an extended half-life of >200 days suggesting the generation of longer-lived plasma cells. SARS-CoV-2 infection also boosts antibody titers to SARS-CoV-1 and common betacoronaviruses. In addition, spike-specific IgG+ memory B cells persist, which bodes well for a rapid antibody response upon virus re-exposure or vaccination. Virus-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are polyfunctional and maintained with an estimated half-life of 200 days. Interestingly, CD4+ T cell responses equally target several SARS-CoV-2 proteins, whereas the CD8+ T cell responses preferentially target the nucleoprotein, highlighting the potential importance of including the nucleoprotein in future vaccines. Taken together, these results suggest that broad and effective immunity may persist long-term in recovered COVID-19 patients.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory