학술논문
Long-term efficacy of the peptide-based COVID-19 T cell activator CoVac-1 in healthy adults
Document Type
article
Author
Claudia Tandler; Jonas S. Heitmann; Tanja M. Michel; Maddalena Marconato; Simon U. Jaeger; Christian M. Tegeler; Monika Denk; Marion Richter; Melek Tutku Oezbek; Yacine Maringer; Sarah M. Schroeder; Nicole Schneiderhan-Marra; Karl-Heinz Wiesmüller; Michael Bitzer; Natalia Ruetalo; Michael Schindler; Christoph Meisner; Imma Fischer; Hans-Georg Rammensee; Helmut R. Salih; Juliane S. Walz
Source
International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol 139, Iss , Pp 69-77 (2024)
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
1201-9712
Abstract
Objectives: T cell immunity is key for the control of viral infections including SARS-CoV-2, in particular with regard to immune memory and protection against arising genetic variants. Methods: We recently evaluated a peptide-based SARS-CoV-2 T cell activator termed CoVac-1 in a first-in-human trial in healthy adults. Here, we report on long-term safety and efficacy data of CoVac-1 until month 12. Results: CoVac-1 is well tolerated without long-term immune-related side effects and induces long-lasting anti-viral T cell responses in 100% of study participants, with potent expandability of clusters of differentiation (CD4+) and CD8+ T cells targeting multiple different CoVac-1 T cell epitopes. T cell responses were associated with stronger injection site reaction. Beyond induction of T cell immunity, 89% of subjects developed CoVac-1-specific immunoglobulin G antibodies which associated with the intensity of the T cell response, indicating that CoVac-1-specific CD4+ T cells support the induction of B-cell responses. Vaccination with approved COVID-19 vaccines boosted CoVac-1-specific T cell responses. Overall, a low SARS-CoV-2 infection rate (8.3%) was observed. Conclusion: Together, a single application of CoVac-1 elicits long-lived and broad SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity, which further supports the current evaluation of our T cell activator in patients with congenital or acquired B-cell defects.