Functional T cell response to COVID-19 vaccination with or without natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in adults and children
Abstract Severe COVID-19 is rare in children suggesting differences in immune response between children and adults. Limited information is available on how cellular immunity is modulated by COVID-19 vaccination and prior infection, and whether it is differentially modulated in children compared to a...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95870-6 |
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| author | Evana Akhtar Rakib Ullah Kuddusi Md. Tanvir Talukder Md. Jakarea Md. Ahsanul Haq Md. Shamim Hossain Maya Vandenent Mohammad Zahirul Islam Rashid U. Zaman Abdur Razzaque Protim Sarker Rubhana Raqib |
| author_facet | Evana Akhtar Rakib Ullah Kuddusi Md. Tanvir Talukder Md. Jakarea Md. Ahsanul Haq Md. Shamim Hossain Maya Vandenent Mohammad Zahirul Islam Rashid U. Zaman Abdur Razzaque Protim Sarker Rubhana Raqib |
| author_sort | Evana Akhtar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Severe COVID-19 is rare in children suggesting differences in immune response between children and adults. Limited information is available on how cellular immunity is modulated by COVID-19 vaccination and prior infection, and whether it is differentially modulated in children compared to adults. Here, we aimed to compare COVID-19 vaccine-induced functional T cell response between adults and children with and without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Adults (18–45 years; n = 45) and children (5–10 years; n = 51;), who received Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or remained unvaccinated, and previously infected or not with SARS-CoV-2 were selected from two cross-sectional SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance studies conducted in Bangladesh. Plasma nucleocapsid (N)-specific antibodies were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay; IFN-γ, perforin and granzyme B secreting T cells were assessed using ELISpot assay. Vaccination in adults without previous infection, induced higher frequencies of IFN-γ and granzyme B secreting T lymphocytes compared to unvaccinated adults, while it increased only IFN-γ expression in vaccinated children. Previous infection increased IFN-γ response in unvaccinated adults only. Unvaccinated children showed higher granzyme B expression compared to adults irrespective of infection status. In vaccinated individuals, prior infection induced perforin expression in both adults and children. Children showed slightly different functional T cell response than adults in response to COVID-19 vaccination and infection. mRNA vaccination provided higher IFN-γ response in both adults and children, but induced cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response in adults only. Future studies may evaluate the impact of other types of COVID-19 vaccines on functional T cell immunity in children to confirm the findings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e3fb3ef5e1db4be48878035cd360085f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-e3fb3ef5e1db4be48878035cd360085f2025-08-20T02:24:29ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-011511910.1038/s41598-025-95870-6Functional T cell response to COVID-19 vaccination with or without natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in adults and childrenEvana Akhtar0Rakib Ullah Kuddusi1Md. Tanvir Talukder2Md. Jakarea3Md. Ahsanul Haq4Md. Shamim Hossain5Maya Vandenent6Mohammad Zahirul Islam7Rashid U. Zaman8Abdur Razzaque9Protim Sarker10Rubhana Raqib11icddr,bicddr,bicddr,bicddr,bicddr,bicddr,bUNICEFEmbassy of Sweden in BangladeshForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office, British High Commissionicddr,bicddr,bicddr,bAbstract Severe COVID-19 is rare in children suggesting differences in immune response between children and adults. Limited information is available on how cellular immunity is modulated by COVID-19 vaccination and prior infection, and whether it is differentially modulated in children compared to adults. Here, we aimed to compare COVID-19 vaccine-induced functional T cell response between adults and children with and without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Adults (18–45 years; n = 45) and children (5–10 years; n = 51;), who received Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or remained unvaccinated, and previously infected or not with SARS-CoV-2 were selected from two cross-sectional SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance studies conducted in Bangladesh. Plasma nucleocapsid (N)-specific antibodies were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay; IFN-γ, perforin and granzyme B secreting T cells were assessed using ELISpot assay. Vaccination in adults without previous infection, induced higher frequencies of IFN-γ and granzyme B secreting T lymphocytes compared to unvaccinated adults, while it increased only IFN-γ expression in vaccinated children. Previous infection increased IFN-γ response in unvaccinated adults only. Unvaccinated children showed higher granzyme B expression compared to adults irrespective of infection status. In vaccinated individuals, prior infection induced perforin expression in both adults and children. Children showed slightly different functional T cell response than adults in response to COVID-19 vaccination and infection. mRNA vaccination provided higher IFN-γ response in both adults and children, but induced cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response in adults only. Future studies may evaluate the impact of other types of COVID-19 vaccines on functional T cell immunity in children to confirm the findings.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95870-6Cytotoxic T lymphocytePerforinGranzyme BIFN-γCellular immunity |
| spellingShingle | Evana Akhtar Rakib Ullah Kuddusi Md. Tanvir Talukder Md. Jakarea Md. Ahsanul Haq Md. Shamim Hossain Maya Vandenent Mohammad Zahirul Islam Rashid U. Zaman Abdur Razzaque Protim Sarker Rubhana Raqib Functional T cell response to COVID-19 vaccination with or without natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in adults and children Scientific Reports Cytotoxic T lymphocyte Perforin Granzyme B IFN-γ Cellular immunity |
| title | Functional T cell response to COVID-19 vaccination with or without natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in adults and children |
| title_full | Functional T cell response to COVID-19 vaccination with or without natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in adults and children |
| title_fullStr | Functional T cell response to COVID-19 vaccination with or without natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in adults and children |
| title_full_unstemmed | Functional T cell response to COVID-19 vaccination with or without natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in adults and children |
| title_short | Functional T cell response to COVID-19 vaccination with or without natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 in adults and children |
| title_sort | functional t cell response to covid 19 vaccination with or without natural infection with sars cov 2 in adults and children |
| topic | Cytotoxic T lymphocyte Perforin Granzyme B IFN-γ Cellular immunity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95870-6 |
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