Impact of memory T cells on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine response in hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients had elevated mortality rates from SARS-CoV-2 infection, ranging between 10-40%. SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines are important tools in preventing severe disease, yet their efficacy post-transplant remains unclear, especially...

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Main Authors: Jennifer VanOudenhove, Yuxin Liu, Raman Nelakanti, Dongjoo Kim, Emma Busarello, Natalia Tijaro Ovalle, Zhihong Qi, Padmavathi Mamillapalli, Alexa Siddon, Zhiliang Bai, Alfredo Axtmayer, Cheryl Corso, Shalin Kothari, Francine Foss, Iris Isufi, Toma Tebaldi, Lohith Gowda, Rong Fan, Stuart Seropian, Stephanie Halene
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320744
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Summary:During the COVID-19 pandemic, hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients had elevated mortality rates from SARS-CoV-2 infection, ranging between 10-40%. SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines are important tools in preventing severe disease, yet their efficacy post-transplant remains unclear, especially in patients subjected to myeloablative chemotherapy and immunosuppression. We evaluated humoral and adaptive immune responses to the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination series in 42 HSCT recipients and 5 healthy controls. Post-vaccination responses were assessed by anti-spike IgG and nucleocapsid levels, and antigen specific T cell activity. Immune profiling was performed using clinical flow and mass cytometry. Patients were selected based on humoral and cellular responses for single-cell RNA with TCR and BCR sequencing. Our studies revealed defects in memory T cells that correlated with an absence of cellular response despite nearly universal humoral response. Several patients with a robust antibody response developed COVID-19 infection, but none developed severe disease or died from the infection.
ISSN:1932-6203