tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Sci Adv
. 2024 Mar;10(9):eadk6425.
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adk6425. Epub 2024 Feb 28. Rise in broadly cross-reactive adaptive immunity against human β-coronaviruses in MERS-recovered patients during the COVID-19 pandemic
So-Hee Kim[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Yuri Kim[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Sangeun Jeon[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Uni Park[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Ju-Il Kang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Kyeongseok Jeon[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Hye-Ran Kim[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Songhyeok Oh[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Ji-Young Rhee[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jae-Phil Choi[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Wan Beom Park[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Sang Won Park[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Jeong-Sun Yang[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Joo-Yeon Lee[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Jihye Kang[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Hyoung-Shik Shin[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Yeonjae Kim[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Seungtaek Kim[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Yeon-Sook Kim[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Dong-Gyun Lim[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Nam-Hyuk Cho[SUP] 1 2 3 13 [/SUP]
Affiliations
To develop a universal coronavirus (CoV) vaccine, long-term immunity against multiple CoVs, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, and future CoV strains, is crucial. Following the 2015 Korean MERS outbreak, we conducted a long-term follow-up study and found that although neutralizing antibodies and memory T cells against MERS-CoV declined over 5 years, some recovered patients exhibited increased antibody levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. This likely resulted from cross-reactive immunity induced by SARS-CoV-2 vaccines or infections. A significant correlation in antibody responses across various CoVs indicates shared immunogenic epitopes. Two epitopes-the spike protein's stem helix and intracellular domain-were highly immunogenic after MERS-CoV infection and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or infection. In addition, memory T cell responses, especially polyfunctional CD4[SUP]+[/SUP] T cells, were enhanced during the pandemic, correlating significantly with MERS-CoV spike-specific antibodies and neutralizing activity. Therefore, incorporating these cross-reactive and immunogenic epitopes into pan-CoV vaccine formulations may facilitate effective vaccine development.
. 2024 Mar;10(9):eadk6425.
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adk6425. Epub 2024 Feb 28. Rise in broadly cross-reactive adaptive immunity against human β-coronaviruses in MERS-recovered patients during the COVID-19 pandemic
So-Hee Kim[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Yuri Kim[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Sangeun Jeon[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Uni Park[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Ju-Il Kang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Kyeongseok Jeon[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Hye-Ran Kim[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Songhyeok Oh[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Ji-Young Rhee[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jae-Phil Choi[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Wan Beom Park[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Sang Won Park[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Jeong-Sun Yang[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Joo-Yeon Lee[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Jihye Kang[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Hyoung-Shik Shin[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Yeonjae Kim[SUP] 11 [/SUP], Seungtaek Kim[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Yeon-Sook Kim[SUP] 12 [/SUP], Dong-Gyun Lim[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Nam-Hyuk Cho[SUP] 1 2 3 13 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38416834
- PMCID: PMC10901372
- DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk6425
To develop a universal coronavirus (CoV) vaccine, long-term immunity against multiple CoVs, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, and future CoV strains, is crucial. Following the 2015 Korean MERS outbreak, we conducted a long-term follow-up study and found that although neutralizing antibodies and memory T cells against MERS-CoV declined over 5 years, some recovered patients exhibited increased antibody levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. This likely resulted from cross-reactive immunity induced by SARS-CoV-2 vaccines or infections. A significant correlation in antibody responses across various CoVs indicates shared immunogenic epitopes. Two epitopes-the spike protein's stem helix and intracellular domain-were highly immunogenic after MERS-CoV infection and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or infection. In addition, memory T cell responses, especially polyfunctional CD4[SUP]+[/SUP] T cells, were enhanced during the pandemic, correlating significantly with MERS-CoV spike-specific antibodies and neutralizing activity. Therefore, incorporating these cross-reactive and immunogenic epitopes into pan-CoV vaccine formulations may facilitate effective vaccine development.