The role of B cells in COVID-19 infection and vaccination

Shiru Chen; Fei Guan; Fabio Candotti; Kamel Benlagha; Niels Olsen Saraiva Camara; Andres A Herrada; Louisa K James; Jiahui Lei; Heather Miller; Masato Kubo; Qin Ning; Chaohong Liu

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2022.988536

The role of B cells in COVID-19 infection and vaccination

Front Immunol. 2022 Aug 30:13:988536. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.988536. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shiru Chen^{1

2}, Fei Guan¹, Fabio Candotti³, Kamel Benlagha⁴, Niels Olsen Saraiva Camara⁵, Andres A Herrada⁶, Louisa K James⁷, Jiahui Lei¹, Heather Miller⁸, Masato Kubo⁹, Qin Ning¹⁰, Chaohong Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science Technology, Wuhan, China.
² Department of Internal Medicine, The Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
³ Division of Immunology and Allergy, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁴ Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, Université de Paris, Paris, France.
⁵ Laboratory of Human Immunology, Department of Immunology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
⁶ Lymphatic and Inflammation Research Laboratory, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas, Universidad Autonoma de Chile, Talca, Chile.
⁷ Centre for Immunobiology, Bizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
⁸ Cytek Biosciences, R&D Clinical Reagents, Fremont, CA, United States.
⁹ Laboratory for Cytokine Regulation, Center for Integrative Medical Science (IMS), Rikagaku Kenkyusho, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) Yokohama Institute, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Infectious Disease, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

B cells secrete antibodies and mediate the humoral immune response, making them extremely important in protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2, which caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this review, we summarize the positive function and pathological response of B cells in SARS-CoV-2 infection and re-infection. Then, we structure the immunity responses that B cells mediated in peripheral tissues. Furthermore, we discuss the role of B cells during vaccination including the effectiveness of antibodies and memory B cells, viral evolution mechanisms, and future vaccine development. This review might help medical workers and researchers to have a better understanding of the interaction between B cells and SARS-CoV-2 and broaden their vision for future investigations.

Keywords: B cells; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antibody; memory B cells; vaccination.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Lymphocyte Count
SARS-CoV-2
Vaccination
Viral Vaccines*

Substances

Viral Vaccines