Abstract
Objective: B cell depletion is an established therapeutic principle in a wide range of autoimmune diseases. However, B cells are also critical for inducing protective immunity after infection and vaccination. We undertook this study to assess humoral and cellular immune responses after infection with or vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with B cell depletion and controls who are B cell-competent.
Methods: Antibody responses (tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and T cell responses (tested using interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunospot assay) against the SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 and nucleocapsid proteins were assessed in a limited number of previously infected (n = 6) and vaccinated (n = 8) autoimmune disease patients with B cell depletion, as well as previously infected (n = 30) and vaccinated (n = 30) healthy controls.
Results: As expected, B cell and T cell responses to the nucleocapsid protein were observed only after infection, while respective responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 were found after both infection and vaccination. A SARS-CoV-2 antibody response was observed in all vaccinated controls (30 of 30 [100%]) but in none of the vaccinated patients with B cell depletion (0 of 8). In contrast, after SARS-CoV-2 infection, both the patients with B cell depletion (spike S1, 5 of 6 [83%]; nucleocapsid, 3 of 6 [50%]) and healthy controls (spike S1, 28 of 30 [93%]; nucleocapsid, 28 of 30 [93%]) developed antibodies. T cell responses against the spike S1 and nucleocapsid proteins were found in both infected and vaccinated patients with B cell depletion and in the controls.
Conclusion: These data show that B cell depletion completely blocks humoral but not T cell SARS-CoV-2 vaccination response. Furthermore, limited humoral immune responses are found after SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with B cell depletion.
【초록키워드】 antibodies, SARS-CoV-2, vaccination, Cellular immune response, SARS-COV-2 infection, Antibody Response, Infection, B cells, interferon, nucleocapsid protein, B cell, Autoimmune disease, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, T cell, Antibody responses, SARS-CoV-2 antibody, protective immunity, nucleocapsid, immune responses, response, T cell responses, therapeutic, Patient, Control, humoral immune response, Autoimmune diseases, Critical, T cell response, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, Humoral and cellular immune responses, SARS-CoV-2 spike, humoral, interferon-γ, enzyme, healthy control, These data, Nucleocapsid proteins, healthy controls, enzyme-linked immunospot assay, block, controls, enzyme-linked immunosorbent, tested, the patient, expected, autoimmune disease patient, the SARS-CoV-2, were assessed, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, response, Depletion,