Open AccessImmune Response to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in 2 Men
Author(s) -
Sudhir Gupta,
Houfen Su,
Sudhanshu Agrawal
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international archives of allergy and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1423-0097
pISSN - 1018-2438
DOI - 10.1159/000520046
Subject(s) - immunology , cytotoxic t cell , cd8 , germinal center , immune system , antibody , memory b cell , cd38 , flow cytometry , biology , medicine , b cell , virology , in vitro , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , stem cell , cd34
In the trials of corona virus vaccines, detailed analyses of subsets of lymphocytes were not carried out. We present perhaps the most comprehensive immunological analysis of 29 subsets of B and T cells in 2 healthy subjects receiving 2 doses of the Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine. Methods: Analyses were performed prior to vaccination, 3 weeks following the 1st dose, and 4 weeks following the 2nd dose. Total, naïve (T N ), and different memory and effector subsets (T CM , T EM , and T EMRA ) of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells; SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-specific tetramer+, and cytotoxic CD8+ T; subsets of T follicular cells (T FH , T FH 1, T FH 2, T FH 1/T FH 17, and T FH 17); B-cell subsets (mature B cells, naive B cells, transitional B cells, marginal zone B cells, class-switched memory B cells, germinal center B cells, and CD21 low B cells), and plasmablasts; and regulatory lymphocytes (CD4+ Treg, CD8+ Treg, Breg, and T FR cells) were evaluated with specific monoclonal antibodies by flow cytometry. Results: A lack of COVID-19 IgG antibodies after the 1st dose in one of 2 subjects was associated with increased regulatory lymphocytes and decreased plasmablasts. Seroconversion after the 2nd dose in this subject was associated with decreased T FR cells and increased plasmablasts. In both subjects, CD4 T EM and CD8 T CM were markedly increased following the 2nd dose. T FH 1 and regulatory lymphocytes were increased (except Breg) following the 1st dose. A striking increase in SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ T cells was observed following the 2nd dose. Conclusion: Our data support the need for 2nd dose of vaccine to induce strong SARS-CoV-2 CD8 T-cell specific response and generation of memory subsets of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Regulatory lymphocytes appear to play a role in the magnitude of response.