Ad26.COV2.S priming provided a solid immunological base for mRNA-based COVID-19 booster vaccination
Daryl Geers,
Roos S.G. Sablerolles,
Debbie van Baarle,
Neeltje A. Kootstra,
Wim J.R. Rietdijk,
Katharina S. Schmitz,
Lennert Gommers,
Susanne Bogers,
Nella J. Nieuwkoop,
Laura L.A. van Dijk,
Eva van Haren,
Melvin Lafeber,
Virgil A.S.H. Dalm,
Abraham Goorhuis,
Douwe F. Postma,
Leo G. Visser,
Anke L.W. Huckriede,
Alessandro Sette,
Alba Grifoni,
Rik L. de Swart,
Marion P.G. Koopmans,
P. Hugo M. van der Kuy,
Corine H. GeurtsvanKessel,
Rory D. de Vries
Affiliations
Daryl Geers
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Roos S.G. Sablerolles
Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Debbie van Baarle
Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Center for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Neeltje A. Kootstra
Department of Experimental Immunology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam Infection and Immunity Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Wim J.R. Rietdijk
Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Katharina S. Schmitz
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Lennert Gommers
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Susanne Bogers
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Nella J. Nieuwkoop
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Laura L.A. van Dijk
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Eva van Haren
Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Melvin Lafeber
Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Virgil A.S.H. Dalm
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Allergy & Clinical Immunology and Department of Immunology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Abraham Goorhuis
Center of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Infection & Immunity, Amsterdam Public Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Douwe F. Postma
Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
Leo G. Visser
Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
Anke L.W. Huckriede
Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
Alessandro Sette
Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, La Jolla, CA, USA
Alba Grifoni
Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), La Jolla, CA, USA
Rik L. de Swart
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Marion P.G. Koopmans
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
P. Hugo M. van der Kuy
Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Corine H. GeurtsvanKessel
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Rory D. de Vries
Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Corresponding author
Summary: The emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants led to the recommendation of booster vaccinations after Ad26.COV2.S priming. It was previously shown that heterologous booster vaccination induces high antibody levels, but how heterologous boosters affect other functional aspects of the immune response remained unknown. Here, we performed immunological profiling of Ad26.COV2.S-primed individuals before and after homologous or heterologous (mRNA-1273 or BNT162b2) booster. Booster vaccinations increased functional antibodies targeting ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants. Especially heterologous booster vaccinations induced high levels of functional antibodies. In contrast, T-cell responses were similar in magnitude following homologous or heterologous booster vaccination and retained cross-reactivity towards variants. Booster vaccination led to a minimal expansion of SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell clones and no increase in the breadth of the T-cell repertoire. In conclusion, we show that Ad26.COV2.S priming vaccination provided a solid immunological base for heterologous boosting, increasing humoral and cellular responses targeting emerging variants of concern.
