1. Humoral and Cellular Immune Response After Third and Fourth SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination in Liver Transplant Recipients.
- Author
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Harberts, Aenne, Schaub, Golda M., Ruether, Darius F., Duengelhoef, Paul M., Brehm, Thomas T., Karsten, Hendrik, Fathi, Anahita, Jahnke-Triankowski, Jacqueline, Fischer, Lutz, Addo, Marylyn M., Haag, Friedrich, Luetgehetmann, Marc, Lohse, Ansgar W., Schulze zur Wiesch, Julian, and Sterneck, Martina
- Abstract
Liver transplant recipients (LTRs) show a decreased immune response after 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccinations compared with healthy controls (HCs). Here, we investigated the immunogenicity of additional vaccinations. In this prospective study, humoral (anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain [anti-S RBD]) and cellular (interferon-gamma release assay) immune responses were determined after mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in 106 LTRs after a third vaccination and in 36 LTRs after a fourth vaccination. Patients with anti-S RBD antibody levels >0.8 arbitrary unit (AU)/mL after vaccination were defined as responders. After 3 vaccinations, 92% (97/106) of LTRs compared with 100% (28/28) of HCs were responders. However, the antibody titer of LTRs was lower compared with HCs (1891.0 vs 21,857.0 AU/mL; P <.001). Between a second and third vaccination (n = 75), the median antibody level increased 67-fold in LTRs. In patients seronegative after 2 vaccinations, a third dose induced seroconversion in 76% (19/25), whereas all HCs were already seropositive after 2 vaccinations. A spike-specific T-cell response was detected in 72% (28/39) after a third vaccination compared with 32% (11/34) after a second vaccination. Independent risk factors for a low antibody response (anti-S RBD <100 AU/mL) were first vaccination within the first year after liver transplant (odds ratio [OR], 8.00; P =.023), estimated glomular filtration rate <45 mL/min (OR, 4.72; P =.006), and low lymphocyte counts (OR, 5.02; P =.008). A fourth vaccination induced a 9-fold increase in the median antibody level and seroconversion in 60% (3/5) of previous non-responders. A third and fourth SARS-CoV-2 vaccination effectively increases the humoral and cellular immune response of LTRs, but to a lesser extent than in HCs. A fourth vaccination should be generally considered in LTRs. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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