Systemic and mucosal immune profiling in asymptomatic and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2–infected individuals reveal unlinked immune signatures

Abstract

Mucosal immunity plays a key role in prevention of SARS-CoV-2 virus spread to the lungs. In this study, we evaluated systemic and mucosal immune signatures in asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2–infected versus symptomatic COVID-19 adults compared with RSV-infected adults. Matched serum and nasal wash pairs were subjected to cytokine/chemokine analyses and comprehensive antibody profiling including epitope repertoire analyses, antibody kinetics to SARS-CoV-2 prefusion spike and spike RBD mutants, and neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. The data suggest independent evolution of antibody responses in the mucosal sites as reflected in differential IgM/IgG/IgA epitope repertoire compared with serum. Antibody affinity against SARS-CoV-2 prefusion spike for both serum and nasal washes was significantly higher in asymptomatic adults compared with symptomatic COVID-19 patients. Last, the cytokine/chemokine responses in the nasal washes were more robust than in serum. These data underscore the importance of evaluating mucosal immune responses for better therapeutics and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.