tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Clin Invest
. 2022 Feb 9;e157990.
doi: 10.1172/JCI157990. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination trigger long-lived B and CD4+ T lymphocytes: implications for booster strategies
Alessio Mazzoni[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anna Vanni[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michele Spinicci[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Giulia Lamacchia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Seble Tekle Kiros[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Arianna Rocca[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Manuela Capone[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Nicoletta Lauria[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Lorenzo Salvati[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Alberto Carnasciali[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elisabetta Mantengoli[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Parham Farahvachi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lorenzo Zammarchi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Filippo Lagi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maria Grazia Colao[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Francesco Liotta[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lorenzo Cosmi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Laura Maggi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Alessandro Bartoloni[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gian Maria Rossolini[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Francesco Annunziato[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Immunization against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) occurs via natural infection or vaccination. However, it is currently unknown how long infection- or vaccination-induced immunological memory will last.
Methods: We performed a longitudinal evaluation of immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 up to one year post infection and following mRNA vaccination in naïve and COVID-19 recovered individuals.
Results: We found that memory cells are still detectable 8 months after vaccination, while antibody levels decline significantly especially in naïve subjects. We also found that a booster injection is efficacious in reactivating immunological memory to spike protein in naïve subjects, while it results ineffective in previously SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Finally, we observed a similar kinetics of decay of humoral and cellular immunity to SARS-CoV-2 up to one year following natural infection in a cohort of unvaccinated individuals.
Conclusion: Short-term persistence of humoral immunity, together with the reduced neutralization capacity versus the currently prevailing SARS-CoV-2 variants, may account for reinfections and breakthrough infections. Long-lived memory B and CD4+ T cells may protect from severe disease development. A booster dose restores optimal anti-spike immunity in naïve subjects, while the need for vaccinated COVID-19 recovered subjects has yet to be defined.
Trial registration: naFUNDING. This study was supported by funds to the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence (Project Excellence Departments 2018-2022), by the University of Florence, project RICTD2122, by the Italian Ministry of Health (COVID-2020-12371849) and by Tuscany Region (TagSARS CoV 2).
Keywords: Adaptive immunity; COVID-19; Cellular immune response.
. 2022 Feb 9;e157990.
doi: 10.1172/JCI157990. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination trigger long-lived B and CD4+ T lymphocytes: implications for booster strategies
Alessio Mazzoni[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anna Vanni[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michele Spinicci[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Giulia Lamacchia[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Seble Tekle Kiros[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Arianna Rocca[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Manuela Capone[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Nicoletta Lauria[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Lorenzo Salvati[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Alberto Carnasciali[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Elisabetta Mantengoli[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Parham Farahvachi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lorenzo Zammarchi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Filippo Lagi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maria Grazia Colao[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Francesco Liotta[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lorenzo Cosmi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Laura Maggi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Alessandro Bartoloni[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Gian Maria Rossolini[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Francesco Annunziato[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35139036
- DOI: 10.1172/JCI157990
Abstract
Background: Immunization against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) occurs via natural infection or vaccination. However, it is currently unknown how long infection- or vaccination-induced immunological memory will last.
Methods: We performed a longitudinal evaluation of immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 up to one year post infection and following mRNA vaccination in naïve and COVID-19 recovered individuals.
Results: We found that memory cells are still detectable 8 months after vaccination, while antibody levels decline significantly especially in naïve subjects. We also found that a booster injection is efficacious in reactivating immunological memory to spike protein in naïve subjects, while it results ineffective in previously SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Finally, we observed a similar kinetics of decay of humoral and cellular immunity to SARS-CoV-2 up to one year following natural infection in a cohort of unvaccinated individuals.
Conclusion: Short-term persistence of humoral immunity, together with the reduced neutralization capacity versus the currently prevailing SARS-CoV-2 variants, may account for reinfections and breakthrough infections. Long-lived memory B and CD4+ T cells may protect from severe disease development. A booster dose restores optimal anti-spike immunity in naïve subjects, while the need for vaccinated COVID-19 recovered subjects has yet to be defined.
Trial registration: naFUNDING. This study was supported by funds to the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence (Project Excellence Departments 2018-2022), by the University of Florence, project RICTD2122, by the Italian Ministry of Health (COVID-2020-12371849) and by Tuscany Region (TagSARS CoV 2).
Keywords: Adaptive immunity; COVID-19; Cellular immune response.