TY - JOUR T1 - Expansion of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Antibody-Secreting Cells and Generation of Neutralizing Antibodies in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients. AU - Varnaitė,Renata, AU - García,Marina, AU - Glans,Hedvig, AU - Maleki,Kimia T, AU - Sandberg,John Tyler, AU - Tynell,Janne, AU - Christ,Wanda, AU - Lagerqvist,Nina, AU - Asgeirsson,Hilmir, AU - Ljunggren,Hans-Gustaf, AU - Ahlén,Gustaf, AU - Frelin,Lars, AU - Sällberg,Matti, AU - Blom,Kim, AU - Klingström,Jonas, AU - Gredmark-Russ,Sara, Y1 - 2020/09/02/ PY - 2020/06/15/received PY - 2020/08/20/accepted PY - 2020/9/4/pubmed PY - 2020/10/28/medline PY - 2020/9/4/entrez SP - 2437 EP - 2446 JF - Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) JO - J Immunol VL - 205 IS - 9 N2 - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in late 2019 and has since become a global pandemic. Pathogen-specific Abs are typically a major predictor of protective immunity, yet human B cell and Ab responses during COVID-19 are not fully understood. In this study, we analyzed Ab-secreting cell and Ab responses in 20 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The patients exhibited typical symptoms of COVID-19 and presented with reduced lymphocyte numbers and increased T cell and B cell activation. Importantly, we detected an expansion of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein-specific Ab-secreting cells in all 20 COVID-19 patients using a multicolor FluoroSpot Assay. Out of the 20 patients, 16 had developed SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing Abs by the time of inclusion in the study. SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA, IgG, and IgM Ab levels positively correlated with SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing Ab titers, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2-specific Ab levels may reflect the titers of neutralizing Abs in COVID-19 patients during the acute phase of infection. Last, we showed that IL-6 and C-reactive protein serum concentrations were higher in patients who were hospitalized for longer, supporting the recent observations that IL-6 and C-reactive protein could be used as markers for COVID-19 severity. Altogether, this study constitutes a detailed description of clinical and immunological parameters in 20 COVID-19 patients, with a focus on B cell and Ab responses, and describes tools to study immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. SN - 1550-6606 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32878912/Expansion_of_SARS_CoV_2_Specific_Antibody_Secreting_Cells_and_Generation_of_Neutralizing_Antibodies_in_Hospitalized_COVID_19_Patients_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -