Humoral Immune Response after the Third SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination in CD20 Depleted People with Multiple Sclerosis.

Achtnichts, Lutz; Jakopp, Barbara; Oberle, Michael; Nedeltchev, Krassen; Fux, Christoph Andreas; Sellner, Johann; Findling, Oliver (2021). Humoral Immune Response after the Third SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination in CD20 Depleted People with Multiple Sclerosis. Vaccines, 9(12) MDPI 10.3390/vaccines9121470

Preview

Text Achtnichts__2021__Humoral_Immune_Response.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY). Download (379kB) | Preview

CD20 depletion is a risk factor for unfavorable outcomes of COVID-19 in people with MS (pwMS). Evidence suggests that protective IgG response to mRNA-based vaccines in B cell-depleted individuals is limited. We studied the seroconversion after the third mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in B cell-depleted pwMS with limited or no IgG response after the standard immunization. Sixteen pwMS treated with ocrelizumab or rituximab received a third homologous SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine, either the Moderna mRNA-1273 or Pfizer-BioNTech's BNT162b2 vaccine. We quantified the response of IgG antibodies against the spike receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 four weeks later. An antibody titer of 100 AU/mL or more was considered clinically relevant. The median time between the last infusion of the anti-CD20 treatment and the third vaccination was 22.9 weeks (range 15.1-31.3). After the third vaccination, one out of 16 patients showed an IgG titer deemed clinically relevant. Only the seroconverted patient had measurable B-cell counts at the time of the third vaccination. The development of a humoral immune response remains rare in pwMS on anti-CD20 therapy, even after third dose of the homologous SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine. It remains to be determined whether T-cell responses can compensate for the lack of seroconversion and provide sufficient protection against CoV-2 infections.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

35 since deposited on 11 Jan 2022
26 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item