Project description:BackgroundFactors affecting response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) recipients remain to be elucidated.MethodsForty allo-HCT recipients were included in a study of immunization with BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine at days 0 and 21. Binding antibodies (Ab) to SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) were assessed at days 0, 21, 28, and 49 while neutralizing Ab against SARS-CoV-2 wild type (NT50) were assessed at days 0 and 49. Results observed in allo-HCT patients were compared to those obtained in 40 healthy adults naive of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Flow cytometry analysis of peripheral blood cells was performed before vaccination to identify potential predictors of Ab responses.ResultsThree patients had detectable anti-RBD Ab before vaccination. Among the 37 SARS-CoV-2 naive patients, 20 (54%) and 32 (86%) patients had detectable anti-RBD Ab 21 days and 49 days postvaccination. Comparing anti-RBD Ab levels in allo-HCT recipients and healthy adults, we observed significantly lower anti-RBD Ab levels in allo-HCT recipients at days 21, 28 and 49. Further, 49% of allo-HCT patients versus 88% of healthy adults had detectable NT50 Ab at day 49 while allo-HCT recipients had significantly lower NT50 Ab titers than healthy adults (P = 0.0004). Ongoing moderate/severe chronic GVHD (P < 0.01) as well as rituximab administration in the year prior to vaccination (P < 0.05) correlated with low anti-RBD and NT50 Ab titers at 49 days after the first vaccination in multivariate analyses. Compared to healthy adults, allo-HCT patients without chronic GVHD or rituximab therapy had comparable anti-RBD Ab levels and NT50 Ab titers at day 49. Flow cytometry analyses before vaccination indicated that Ab responses in allo-HCT patients were strongly correlated with the number of memory B cells and of naive CD4+ T cells (r > 0.5, P < 0.01) and more weakly with the number of follicular helper T cells (r = 0.4, P = 0.01).ConclusionsChronic GVHD and rituximab administration in allo-HCT recipients are associated with reduced Ab responses to BNT162b2 vaccination. Immunological markers could help identify allo-HCT patients at risk of poor Ab response to mRNA vaccination.Trial registrationThe study was registered at clinicaltrialsregister.eu on 11 March 2021 (EudractCT # 2021-000673-83).
Project description:Immunocompromised individuals generally fail to mount efficacious immune humoral responses following vaccination. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern has raised the question as to whether levels of anti-spike protein antibodies achieved after two or three doses of the vaccine efficiently protect against breakthrough infection in the context of immune suppression. We used a fluorescence-based neutralization assay to test the sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 variants (ancestral variant, Beta, Delta, and Omicron BA.1) to the neutralizing response induced by vaccination in highly immunosuppressed allogeneic HSCT recipients, tested after two and three doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine. We show that neutralizing antibody responses to the Beta and Delta variants in most immunocompromised HSCT recipients increased after three vaccine doses up to values similar to those observed in twice-vaccinated healthy adults and were significantly lower against Omicron BA.1. Overall, neutralization titers correlated with the amount of anti-S-RBD antibodies measured by means of enzyme immunoassay, indicating that commercially available assays can be used to quantify the anti-S-RBD antibody response as a reliable surrogate marker of humoral immune protection in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. Our findings support the recommendation of additional early vaccine doses as a booster of humoral neutralizing activity against emerging variants, in HSCT immunocompromised patients. In the context of Omicron circulation, it further emphasizes the need for reinforcement of preventive measures including the administration of monoclonal antibodies in this high-risk population.
Project description:This is a multicenter prospective observational study that included a large cohort (n = 397) of allogeneic (allo-HSCT; (n = 311) and autologous (ASCT) hematopoietic stem cell transplant (n = 86) recipients who were monitored for antibody detection within 3-6 weeks after complete severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination from February 1, 2021, to July 20, 2021. Most patients (n = 387, 97.4%) received mRNA-based vaccines. Most of the recipients (93%) were vaccinated more than 1 year after transplant. Detectable SARS-CoV-2-reactive antibodies were observed in 242 (78%) of allo-HSCT and in 73 (85%) of ASCT recipients. Multivariate analysis in allo-HSCT recipients identified lymphopenia < 1 × 109 /ml (odds ratio [OR] 0.33, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.16-0.69, p = .003), active graft versus host disease (GvHD; OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.27-0.98, p = .04) and vaccination within the first year of transplant (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.15-0.9, p = .04) associated with lower antibody detection whereas. In ASCT, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL; OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.02-0.44, p = .003) and active corticosteroid therapy (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.02-0.87, p = .03) were associated with lower detection rate. We report an encouraging rate of SARS-CoV-2-reactive antibodies detection in these severe immunocompromised patients. Lymphopenia, GvHD, the timing of vaccine, and NHL and corticosteroids therapy should be considered in allo-HSCT and ASCT, respectively, to identify candidates for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies monitoring.
Project description:HCT recipients reportedly have a high mortality rate after developing COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is generally useful to prevent COVID-19. However, its safety and efficacy among HCT recipients remain elusive. This large-scale prospective observational study including 543 HCT recipients with 37-months interval from transplant demonstrated high safety profiles of mRNA vaccine: only 0.9% of patients avoided the second dose due to adverse event or GVHD aggravation following the first dose. Regarding the efficacy, serological response with a clinically relevant titer (≥250 BAU/mL) was obtained in 397 (73.1%) patients. We classified the remaining 146 patients as impaired responders and compared the clinical and immunological parameters between two groups. In allogeneic HCT recipients, multivariable analysis revealed the risk factors for impaired serological response as follows: age (≥60, 1 points), HLA-mismatched donor (1 points), use of systemic steroids (1 points), absolute lymphocyte counts (<1000/μL, 1 points), absolute B-cell counts (<100/μL, 1 points), and serum IgG level (<500 mg/dL, 2 points). Notably, the incidence of impaired serological response increased along with the risk scores: patients with 0, 1-3, and 4-7 points were 3.9%, 21.8%, and 74.6%, respectively. In autologous HCT recipients, a shorter interval from transplant to vaccination was the only risk factor for impaired serological response. Our findings indicate that two doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine are safe but insufficient for a part of HCT recipients with higher risk scores. To improve this situation, we should consider additional treatment options, including booster vaccination and prophylactic neutralizing antibodies during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Project description:The kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 reactive IgG antibodies after full vaccination and booster in allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT, ASCT) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) are of utmost importance for estimating risk of infection. A prospective multicenter registry-based cohort study, conducted from December 2020 to July 2022 was used to analyze antibody waning over time, booster effect and the relationship of antibody response and breakthrough infection in 572 recipients (429 allo-HSCT, 121 ASCT and 22 CAR-T cell therapy). A significant decline in antibody titers was observed at 3 and 6 months after full vaccination in recipients without pre-vaccine SARS-CoV-2 infection, whereas recipients infected prior to vaccination showed higher and stable antibody titers over time. In poor responders, a booster dose was able to increase antibody titers in 83% of allo-HSCT and 58% of ASCT recipients but not in CART-T cell recipients [0%] (p < 0.01). One-year cumulative incidence of breakthrough infection was 15%, similar among cell therapy procedures. Immunosuppressive drugs at the time of vaccination [hazard ratio (HR) 1.81, p = 0.0028] and reduced intensity conditioning (HR 0.49, p = 0.011) were identified as the only conditions associated with different risk of breakthrough infection in allo-HSCT recipients. Antibody titers were associated with breakthrough infection and disease severity. No death was observed among the 72 breakthrough infections. Antibody level decay after the first two vaccine doses was common except in recipients with pre-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection. Poorly responding allo-HSCT recipients showed a response advantage with the booster as compared to ASCT and, especially, the null response found in CAR-T cell recipients. Antibody titers were positively correlated with the risk of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection which was mainly driven by the immunosuppression status.
Project description:Transplant recipients, who receive therapeutic immunosuppression to prevent graft rejection, are characterized by high coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related mortality and defective response to vaccines. We observed that previous infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but not the standard two-dose regimen of vaccination, provided protection against symptomatic COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients. We therefore compared the cellular and humoral immune responses of these two groups of patients. Neutralizing anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies were identified as the primary correlate of protection for transplant recipients. Analysis of virus-specific B and T cell responses suggested that the generation of neutralizing anti-RBD IgG may have depended on cognate T-B cell interactions that took place in germinal center, potentially acting as a limiting checkpoint. High-dose mycophenolate mofetil, an immunosuppressive drug, was associated with fewer antigen-specific B and T follicular helper (TFH) cells after vaccination; this was not observed in patients recently infected with SARS-CoV-2. Last, we observed that, in two independent prospective cohorts, administration of a third dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine restored neutralizing titers of anti-RBD IgG in about 40% of individuals who had not previously responded to two doses of vaccine. Together, these findings suggest that a third dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine improves the RBD-specific responses of transplant patients treated with immunosuppressive drugs.
Project description:To determine factors influencing the vaccination response against SARS-CoV-2 is of importance in recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) as they display an increased mortality after SARS-CoV-2 infection, an increased risk of extended viral persistence and reduced vaccination response. Real-life data on anti-SARS-CoV-2-S1-IgG titers (n = 192) and IFN-γ release (n = 110) of allo-HCT recipients were obtained using commercially available, validated assays after vaccination with either mRNA (Comirnaty™, Pfizer-BioNTech™, NY, US and Mainz, Germany or Spikevax™, Moderna™, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US) or vector-based vaccines (Vaxzevria™,AstraZeneca™, Cambridge, UK or Janssen COVID-19 vaccine™Johnson/Johnson, New Brunswick, New Jersey, US), or after a heterologous protocol (vector/mRNA). Humoral response (78% response rate) was influenced by age, time after transplantation, the usage of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and ongoing immunosuppression, specifically corticosteroids. High counts of B cells during the vaccination period correlated with a humoral response. Only half (55%) of participants showed a cellular vaccination response. It depended on age, time after transplantation, ongoing immunosuppression with ciclosporin A, chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) and vaccination type, with vector-based protocols favoring a response. Cellular response failure correlated with a higher CD8+ count and activated/HLA-DR+ T cells one year after transplantation. Our data provide the basis to assess both humoral and cellular responses after SARS-CoV2 vaccination in daily practice, thereby opening up the possibility to identify patients at risk.