Humoral vaccine responses are known to be suboptimal in patients receiving B-cell targeted therapy, and little is known about vaccine induced T-cell immunity in these patients. In this study, we characterized humoral and cellular antigen-specific anti-SARS-CoV2 responses following COVID-19 vaccination in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) receiving anti-CD20 therapy, who were either B-cell depleted, or B-cell recovered at the time of vaccination and in normal control subjects. SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike (S) and anti-nucleocapsid (NC) antibodies were measured using electrochemiluminescence immunoassays, while SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell responses to S glycoprotein subunits 1 (S1) and 2 (S2) and receptor binding domain peptide pools were measured using interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT) assays. In total, 26 recently vaccinated subjects were studied. Despite the lack of a measurable humoral immune response, B-cell depleted patients mounted a similar vaccine induced antigen-specific T-cell response compared to B-cell recovered patients and normal controls. Our data indicate that to assure a humoral response in patients receiving anti-CD20 therapy, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination should ideally be delayed until B-cell recovery (CD-20 positive B-cells > 10/μl). Nevertheless, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination elicits robust, potentially protective cellular immune responses in these subjects. Further research to characterize the durability and protective effect of vaccine-induced anti-SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell immunity are needed.
【저자키워드】 Cellular immune response, rituximab, COVID-19 vaccination, humoral immune response, ANCA-associated vasculitis, 【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Vaccine, vaccination, antibody, T-cell Response, interferon, peptide, anti-SARS-CoV-2, anti-CD20 therapy, Receptor binding domain, immunoassays, Humoral response, COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine response, immune responses, response, Research, Patient, Vasculitis, ELISPOT, targeted therapy, patients, T-cell responses, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, Anti-spike, protective effect, anti-CD20, Protective, T-cell immunity, B-cell, S glycoprotein, cellular, B-cells, humoral, subunit, control subjects, subject, Specific T-cell response, positive, controls, enzyme-linked immunosorbent, robust, recovered patient, lack, assays, receiving, characterized, subjects, elicit, were measured, mounted, peptide pool, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Specific,