SARS-CoV-2 vaccination elicits broad and potent antibody effector functions to variants of concern in vulnerable populations

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 5171 - 11
• Main Authors: Hederman, Andrew P., Natarajan, Harini, Heyndrickx, Leo, Ariën, Kevin K., Wiener, Joshua A., Wright, Peter F., Bloch, Evan M., Tobian, Aaron A. R., Redd, Andrew D., Blankson, Joel N., Rottenstreich, Amihai, Zarbiv, Gila, Wolf, Dana, Goetghebuer, Tessa, Marchant, Arnaud, Ackerman, Margaret E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 24.08.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/106; 13/109; 13/31; 49/1; 49/31; 49/79; 631/250/2152/2153/1291; 631/250/255/2514; 82/1; Antibodies; Antibody response; At risk populations; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 Vaccines; Female; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; mRNA; multidisciplinary; Neutralization; Pandemics; Populations; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; Recognition; SARS-CoV-2; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Vaccination; Vaccines; Viral diseases; Vulnerable Populations
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40960-0

SARS-CoV-2 variants have continuously emerged in the face of effective vaccines. Reduced neutralization against variants raises questions as to whether other antibody functions are similarly compromised, or if they might compensate for lost neutralization activity. Here, the breadth and potency of antibody recognition and effector function is surveyed following either infection or vaccination. Considering pregnant women as a model cohort with higher risk of severe illness and death, we observe similar binding and functional breadth for healthy and immunologically vulnerable populations, but considerably greater functional antibody breadth and potency across variants associated with vaccination. In contrast, greater antibody functional activity targeting the endemic coronavirus OC43 is noted among convalescent individuals, illustrating a dichotomy in recognition between close and distant human coronavirus strains associated with exposure history. This analysis of antibody functions suggests the differential potential for antibody effector functions to contribute to protecting vaccinated and convalescent subjects as novel variants continue to evolve. As the SARS-SoV-2 pandemic progressed and the vaccinated population increased, a number of variants of concerns that circumvented the vaccine induced immunity emerged. Here the authors compare SARS-SoV-2 mRNA vaccine responses in pregnant women and other people, characterising the antibody response and Fc functions, and potency against a range of variants of concern.