Diverse immunoglobulin gene usage and convergent epitope targeting in neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2.
Zhou, X., Ma, F., Xie, J., Yuan, M., Li, Y., Shaabani, N., Zhao, F., Huang, D., Wu, N.C., Lee, C.D., Liu, H., Li, J., Chen, Z., Hong, Y., Liu, W.H., Xiao, N., Burton, D.R., Tu, H., Li, H., Chen, X., Teijaro, J.R., Wilson, I.A., Xiao, C., Huang, Z.(2021) Cell Rep 35: 109109-109109
- PubMed: 33932326 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109109
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
7MF1 - PubMed Abstract: 
It is unclear whether individuals with enormous diversity in B cell receptor repertoires are consistently able to mount effective antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2. We analyzed antibody responses in a cohort of 55 convalescent patients and isolated 54 potent neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). While most of the mAbs target the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding surface on the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, mAb 47D1 binds only to one side of the receptor binding surface on the RBD. Neutralization by 47D1 is achieved independent of interfering RBD-ACE2 binding. A crystal structure of the mAb-RBD complex shows that the IF motif at the tip of 47D1 CDR H2 interacts with a hydrophobic pocket in the RBD. Diverse immunoglobulin gene usage and convergent epitope targeting characterize neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that vaccines that effectively present the receptor binding site on the RBD will likely elicit neutralizing antibody responses in a large fraction of the population.
Organizational Affiliation: 
State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.