[en] As solid organ transplant recipients are at high risk of severe COVID-19 and respond poorly to primary SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination, they have been prioritized for booster vaccination. However, an immunological correlate of protection has not been identified in this vulnerable population. We conducted a prospective monocentric cohort study of 65 kidney transplant recipients who received 3 doses of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Associations among breakthrough infection (BTI), vaccine responses, and patient characteristics were explored in 54 patients. Symptomatic COVID-19 was diagnosed in 32% of kidney transplant recipients during a period of 6 months after booster vaccination. During this period, SARS-CoV-2 delta and omicron were the dominant variants in the general population. Univariate Analyses identified the avidity of SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain binding IgG, neutralizing antibodies, and SARS-CoV-2 S2-specific interferon gamma responses as correlates of protection against BTI. No demographic or clinical parameter correlated with the risk of BTI. In multivariate analysis, the risk of BTI was best predicted by neutralizing antibody and S2-specific interferon gamma responses. In conclusion, T cell responses may help compensate for the suboptimal antibody response to booster vaccination in kidney transplant recipients. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Disciplines :
Immunology & infectious disease
Author, co-author :
Kemlin, Delphine ; Institute for Medical Immunology and ULB Centre for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Gosselies, Belgium, Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Erasme Hospital, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: delphine.kemlin@erasme.ulb.ac.be
Gemander, Nicolas ; Institute for Medical Immunology and ULB Centre for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Gosselies, Belgium
Depickère, Stéphanie ; Scientific Direction Infectious Diseases in Humans, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
Olislagers, Véronique ; Institute for Medical Immunology and ULB Centre for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Gosselies, Belgium
Waegemans, Alexandra ; Institute for Medical Immunology and ULB Centre for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Gosselies, Belgium
Pannus, Pieter ; Scientific Direction Infectious Diseases in Humans, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
Lemy, Anne ; Department of Nephrology, Marie Curie Hospital, Charleroi, Belgium
Goossens, Maria E ; Scientific Direction Infectious Diseases in Humans, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
Desombere, Isabelle ; Scientific Direction Infectious Diseases in Humans, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
Michiels, Johan ; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Virology Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
Heyndrickx, Leo ; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Virology Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
Ariën, Kevin K ; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Virology Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Matagne, André ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la vie > Enzymologie et repliement des protéines
Ackerman, Margaret E ; Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
Le Moine, Alain ; Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Erasme Hospital, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
Marchant, Arnaud ; Institute for Medical Immunology and ULB Centre for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Gosselies, Belgium. Electronic address: arnaud.marchant@ulb.be
Sciensano [BE] F.R.S.-FNRS - Fund for Scientific Research [BE]
Funding text :
This study was co-funded by the Belgian Federal Government through Sciensano and by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique, F.R.S.-FNRS, Belgium. D.K. received a PhD studentship from the F.R.S- FNRS, Belgium. N.G. received a PhD studentship from the Fonds Erasme, Belgium. A.M. is the Research Director of the F.R.S.-FNRS, Belgium.This study was co-funded by the Belgian Federal Government through Sciensano and by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique, F.R.S.-FNRS, Belgium. D.K. received a PhD studentship from the F.R.S- FNRS, Belgium. N.G. received a PhD studentship from the Fonds Erasme, Belgium. A.M. is the Research Director of the F.R.S.-FNRS, Belgium.
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