The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has unprecedented implications for public health, social life, and the world economy. Because approved drugs and vaccines are limited or not available, new options for COVID-19 treatment and prevention are in high demand. To identify SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies, we analyzed the antibody response of 12 COVID-19 patients from 8 to 69 days after diagnosis. By screening 4,313 SARS-CoV-2-reactive B cells, we isolated 255 antibodies from different time points as early as 8 days after diagnosis. Of these, 28 potently neutralized authentic SARS-CoV-2 with IC₁₀₀ as low as 0.04 μg/mL, showing a broad spectrum of variable (V) genes and low levels of somatic mutations. Interestingly, potential precursor sequences were identified in naive B cell repertoires from 48 healthy individuals who were sampled before the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies are readily generated from a diverse pool of precursors, fostering hope for rapid induction of a protective immune response upon vaccination.

SARS-CoV-2 大流行对公共卫生、社会生活和世界经济产生了前所未有的影响。由于批准的药物和疫苗有限或无法获得，因此迫切需要新的 COVID-19 治疗和预防选择。为了识别 SARS-CoV-2 中和抗体，我们分析了 12 名 COVID-19 患者诊断后 8 至 69 天的抗体反应。通过筛查 4,313 个 SARS-CoV-2 反应性 B 细胞，我们早在诊断后 8 天的不同时间点就分离出了 255 种抗体。其中，28 种有效中和真正的 SARS-CoV-2，IC ₁₀₀低至 0.04 μg/mL，显示出广泛的可变 (V) 基因和低水平的体细胞突变。有趣的是，在 COVID-19 大流行之前采样的 48 名健康个体的初始 B 细胞库中发现了潜在的前体序列。我们的结果表明，SARS-CoV-2 中和抗体很容易从多种前体中产生，这为疫苗接种后快速诱导保护性免疫反应带来了希望。