Influenza H1N1 Imprinting Uncouples Serological and B-Cell Responses in Mice

A primary 2009 pandemic H1N1 infection largely prevents new serum antibody generation after secondary challenge with antigenically distinct H1N1 A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (PR8) in mice.

• Why it matters: Antigenic drift can erode antibody protection, and immunological imprinting is known serologically, but its cellular basis is unclear.
• What they did: Mice received primary infection with either 2009 H1N1 or PR8, then underwent secondary H1N1 challenge; serum antibody profiling was paired with single-cell BCR sequencing of germinal center B cells and bulk BCR sequencing of bone marrow plasma cells.
• The result: Germinal center B cells and draining lymph node B-cell repertoires did not track serological imprinting, instead generating updated BCR repertoires against the heterologous challenge strain.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.