Humoral and cellular immune responses following Omicron BA.2.2 breakthrough infection and Omicron BA.5 reinfection
Xin-Jing Zhao,
Bin Ji,
Chao Shang,
De-Yu Li,
Sheng Zhang,
Hong-Jing Gu,
Hong-Hong Peng,
Cheng Qian,
Cui-Ling Zhang,
Chao Shi,
Yuan Shen,
Jin-Jin Chen,
Qiang Xu,
Chen-Long Lv,
Bao-Gui Jiang,
Hui Wang,
Xiao Li,
Guo-Lin Wang,
Li-Qun Fang
Affiliations
Xin-Jing Zhao
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China
Bin Ji
Department of Disease Control, the Affiliated Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuxi, China
Chao Shang
Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
De-Yu Li
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China
Sheng Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China
Hong-Jing Gu
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China
Hong-Hong Peng
Department of Disease Control, the Affiliated Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuxi, China
Cheng Qian
Jiangyin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangyin, China
Cui-Ling Zhang
Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
Chao Shi
Department of Disease Control, the Affiliated Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuxi, China
Yuan Shen
Department of Disease Control, the Affiliated Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuxi, China
Jin-Jin Chen
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China
Qiang Xu
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China
Chen-Long Lv
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China
Bao-Gui Jiang
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China
Hui Wang
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China; Corresponding author
Xiao Li
Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China; Corresponding author
Guo-Lin Wang
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China; Corresponding author
Li-Qun Fang
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Science, Beijing, P.R. China; Corresponding author
Summary: The emergence of novel Omicron subvariants has raised concerns regarding the efficacy of immunity induced by prior Omicron subvariants breakthrough infection (BTI) or reinfection against current circulating Omicron subvariants. Here, we prospectively investigated the durability of antibody and T cell responses in individuals post Omicron BA.2.2 BTI, with or without subsequent Omicron BA.5 reinfection. Our findings reveal that the emerging Omicron subvariants, including CH.1.1, XBB, and JN.1, exhibit extensive immune evasion induced by previous infections. Notably, the level of IgG and neutralizing antibodies were found to correlate with subsequent Omicron BA.5 reinfection. Fortunately, T cell responses recognizing both Omicron BA.2 and CH.1.1 peptides were observed. Furthermore, Omicron BA.5 reinfection may alleviate immune imprinting induced by WT-vaccination, bolster virus-specific ICS+ T cell responses, and promote the phenotypic differentiation of virus-specific memory CD8+ T cells. Antigen-updated or T cell-conserved vaccines are needed to control the transmission of diverse emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
