tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Med Virol
. 2025 Jan;97(1):e70071.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.70071. A 10 Year Long-Lived Cellular and Humoral MERS-CoV Immunity Cross-Recognizing the Wild-Type and Variants of SARS-CoV-2: A Potential One-Way MERS-CoV Cross-Protection Toward a Pan-Coronavirus Vaccine
Bandar Alosaimi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maaweya Awadalla[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wael Alturaiki[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zhao Chen[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhaoyong Zhang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Airu Zhu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Fatimah Rebh[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Abeer N Alshukairi[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jincun Zhao[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Haitham S Alkadi[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
MERS is a respiratory disease caused by MERS-CoV. Multiple outbreaks have been reported, and the virus co-circulates with SARS-CoV-2. The long-term (> 6 years) cellular and humoral immune responses to MERS-CoV and their potential cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 and its variants are unknown. We comprehensively investigated long-lasting MERS-CoV-specific cellular and humoral immunity, and its cross-reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, in individuals recovered from MERS-CoV infection 1-10 years prior. Two cohorts of MERS-CoV survivors (31 unvaccinated, 38 COVID-19 vaccinated) were assessed for MERS-CoV IgG, memory CD4[SUP]+[/SUP]/CD8[SUP]+[/SUP] T cells, and neutralizing antibodies against MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 variants. MERS-CoV IgG levels and T cell responses were higher in the 1-5 vs 6-10 year postinfection groups. Vaccinated MERS-CoV survivors had significantly elevated MERS-CoV IgG and neutralization compared to unvaccinated. Both groups demonstrated cross-reactive neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants. MERS-CoV survivors vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 had higher anti-MERS IgG, cellular immunity, and neutralization than unvaccinated survivors. MERS-CoV immune responses can persist for a decade. COVID-19 vaccination boosted humoral and cellular immunity in MERS-CoV survivors, suggesting the benefits of vaccination for this population. These findings have implications for pan-coronavirus vaccine development.
Keywords: BA.5 variant; Delta variant; MERS‐CoV; SARS‐CoV‐2; cellular immunity; cross‐reactivity; humoral immunity; short‐term T cell line.
. 2025 Jan;97(1):e70071.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.70071. A 10 Year Long-Lived Cellular and Humoral MERS-CoV Immunity Cross-Recognizing the Wild-Type and Variants of SARS-CoV-2: A Potential One-Way MERS-CoV Cross-Protection Toward a Pan-Coronavirus Vaccine
Bandar Alosaimi[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maaweya Awadalla[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wael Alturaiki[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Zhao Chen[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhaoyong Zhang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Airu Zhu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Fatimah Rebh[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Abeer N Alshukairi[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jincun Zhao[SUP] 3 6 [/SUP], Haitham S Alkadi[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 39822038
- PMCID: PMC11740004
- DOI: 10.1002/jmv.70071
MERS is a respiratory disease caused by MERS-CoV. Multiple outbreaks have been reported, and the virus co-circulates with SARS-CoV-2. The long-term (> 6 years) cellular and humoral immune responses to MERS-CoV and their potential cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 and its variants are unknown. We comprehensively investigated long-lasting MERS-CoV-specific cellular and humoral immunity, and its cross-reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, in individuals recovered from MERS-CoV infection 1-10 years prior. Two cohorts of MERS-CoV survivors (31 unvaccinated, 38 COVID-19 vaccinated) were assessed for MERS-CoV IgG, memory CD4[SUP]+[/SUP]/CD8[SUP]+[/SUP] T cells, and neutralizing antibodies against MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 variants. MERS-CoV IgG levels and T cell responses were higher in the 1-5 vs 6-10 year postinfection groups. Vaccinated MERS-CoV survivors had significantly elevated MERS-CoV IgG and neutralization compared to unvaccinated. Both groups demonstrated cross-reactive neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants. MERS-CoV survivors vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 had higher anti-MERS IgG, cellular immunity, and neutralization than unvaccinated survivors. MERS-CoV immune responses can persist for a decade. COVID-19 vaccination boosted humoral and cellular immunity in MERS-CoV survivors, suggesting the benefits of vaccination for this population. These findings have implications for pan-coronavirus vaccine development.
Keywords: BA.5 variant; Delta variant; MERS‐CoV; SARS‐CoV‐2; cellular immunity; cross‐reactivity; humoral immunity; short‐term T cell line.