Assessment of humoral and cellular immunity induced by the BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in healthcare workers, elderly people, and immunosuppressed patients with autoimmune disease

The development of vaccines to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection has mainly relied on the induction of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) to the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, but there is growing evidence that T cell immune response can contribute to protection as well. In this study, an anti-receptor binding...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Immunologic research 2021-12, Vol.69 (6), p.576-583
Main Authors: Malipiero, Giacomo, Moratto, Anna, Infantino, Maria, D’Agaro, Pierlanfranco, Piscianz, Elisa, Manfredi, Mariangela, Grossi, Valentina, Benvenuti, Enrico, Bulgaresi, Matteo, Benucci, Maurizio, Villalta, Danilo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Allergology
Antibodies
Antibodies, Neutralizing - blood
Antibodies, Viral - blood
Antibody response
Autoimmune diseases
Autoimmune Diseases - immunology
B-Lymphocytes - immunology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
BNT162 Vaccine
CD19 antigen
Cell-mediated immunity
Correlation
COVID-19
COVID-19 - immunology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
COVID-19 Vaccines - immunology
Female
Health care
Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Humoral immunity
Immune response
Immune status
Immune system
Immunity (Disease)
Immunity, Cellular - immunology
Immunity, Humoral - immunology
Immunocompromised Host - immunology
Immunogenicity, Vaccine - immunology
Immunology
Immunosuppressive agents
Immunosuppressive Agents - adverse effects
Immunosuppressive Agents - therapeutic use
Interferon-gamma - blood
Internal Medicine
Lymphocyte Count
Lymphocytes
Lymphocytes B
Lymphocytes T
Male
Medical personnel
Medicine/Public Health
Middle Aged
Older people
Original
Original Article
Patients
Protein Domains - immunology
SARS-CoV-2 - immunology
Sensitivity analysis
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - immunology
Spike protein
T-Lymphocytes - immunology
Vaccination
Vaccines
Viral diseases
Young Adult
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Summary:The development of vaccines to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection has mainly relied on the induction of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) to the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, but there is growing evidence that T cell immune response can contribute to protection as well. In this study, an anti-receptor binding domain (RBD) antibody assay and an INFγ-release assay (IGRA) were used to detect humoral and cellular responses to the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine in three separate cohorts of COVID-19-naïve patients: 108 healthcare workers (HCWs), 15 elderly people, and 5 autoimmune patients treated with immunosuppressive agents. After the second dose of vaccine, the mean values of anti-RBD antibodies (Abs) and INFγ were 123.33 U/mL (range 27.55–464) and 1513 mIU/mL (range 145–2500) in HCWs and 210.7 U/mL (range 3–500) and 1167 mIU/mL (range 83–2500) in elderly people. No correlations between age and immune status were observed. On the contrary, a weak but significant positive correlation was found between INFγ and anti-RBD Abs values ( rho  = 0.354, p  = 0.003). As to the autoimmune cohort, anti-RBD Abs were not detected in the two patients with absent peripheral CD19 + B cells, despite high INFγ levels being observed in all 5 patients after vaccination. Even though the clinical relevance of T cell response has not yet been established as a correlate of vaccine-induced protection, IGRA testing has showed optimal sensitivity and specificity to define vaccine responders, even in patients lacking a cognate antibody response to the vaccine.
ISSN:0257-277X
1559-0755
DOI:10.1007/s12026-021-09226-z