학술논문
Enhanced Spike-specific, but attenuated Nucleocapsid-specific T cell responses upon SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough versus non-breakthrough infections
Document Type
article
Author
Mohamed Ibraheem Mahmoud Ahmed; Paulina Diepers; Christian Janke; Michael Plank; Tabea M. Eser; Raquel Rubio-Acero; Anna Fuchs; Olga Baranov; Noemi Castelletti; Inge Kroidl; Laura Olbrich; Bernadette Bauer; Danni Wang; Martina Prelog; Johannes G. Liese; Christina Reinkemeyer; Michael Hoelscher; Philipp Steininger; Klaus Überla; Andreas Wieser; Christof Geldmacher
Source
Frontiers in Immunology, Vol 13 (2022)
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
1664-3224
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough infections frequently occurred even before the emergence of Omicron variants. Yet, relatively little is known about the impact of vaccination on SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and antibody response dynamics upon breakthrough infection. We have therefore studied the dynamics of CD4 and CD8 T cells targeting the vaccine-encoded Spike and the non-encoded Nucleocapsid antigens during breakthrough infections (BTI, n=24) and in unvaccinated control infections (non-BTI, n=30). Subjects with vaccine breakthrough infection had significantly higher CD4 and CD8 T cell responses targeting the vaccine-encoded Spike during the first and third/fourth week after PCR diagnosis compared to non-vaccinated controls, respectively. In contrast, CD4 T cells targeting the non-vaccine encoded Nucleocapsid antigen were of significantly lower magnitude in BTI as compared to non-BTI. Hence, previous vaccination was linked to enhanced T cell responses targeting the vaccine-encoded Spike antigen, while responses against the non-vaccine encoded Nucleocapsid antigen were significantly attenuated.