Accumulation of mutations in antibody and CD8 T cell epitopes in a B cell depleted lymphoma patient with chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection

Antibodies against the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can drive adaptive evolution in immunocompromised patients with chronic infection. Here we longitudinally analyze SARS-CoV-2 sequences in a B cell-depleted, lymphoma patient with chronic, ultimately fatal infection, and identify three mutations in the spike protein that dampen convalescent plasma-mediated neutralization of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, four mutations emerge in non-spike regions encoding three CD8 T cell epitopes, including one nucleoprotein epitope affected by two mutations. Recognition of each mutant peptide by CD8 T cells from convalescent donors is reduced compared to its ancestral peptide, with additive effects resulting from double mutations. Querying public SARS-CoV-2 sequences shows that these mutations have independently emerged as homoplasies in circulating lineages. Our data thus suggest that potential impacts of CD8 T cells on SARS-CoV-2 mutations, at least in those with humoral immunodeficiency, warrant further investigation to inform on vaccine design. SARS-CoV-2 mutations associated with the escape from antibody-mediated neutralization have been widely reported. Here, in a patient with defective antibody responses, the authors find a potential association between SARS-CoV-2 mutations and CD8 T alterations to implicate possible contributions of CD8 T cells in evasion of SARS-CoV-2 from host immunity.