Humoral immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 Spike variants after mRNA vaccination in solid organ transplant recipients
Alexandra Tauzin,
Guillaume Beaudoin-Bussières,
Shang Yu Gong,
Debashree Chatterjee,
Gabrielle Gendron-Lepage,
Catherine Bourassa,
Guillaume Goyette,
Normand Racine,
Zineb Khrifi,
Julie Turgeon,
Cécile Tremblay,
Valérie Martel-Laferrière,
Daniel E. Kaufmann,
Héloïse Cardinal,
Marc Cloutier,
Renée Bazin,
Ralf Duerr,
Mélanie Dieudé,
Marie-Josée Hébert,
Andrés Finzi
Affiliations
Alexandra Tauzin
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Guillaume Beaudoin-Bussières
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Shang Yu Gong
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
Debashree Chatterjee
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Gabrielle Gendron-Lepage
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Catherine Bourassa
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Guillaume Goyette
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Normand Racine
Institut Cardiologie de Montréal, Montreal, QC H1T 1C8, Canada
Zineb Khrifi
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Julie Turgeon
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP), Edmonton, AL T6G 2E1, Canada
Cécile Tremblay
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Valérie Martel-Laferrière
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada
Daniel E. Kaufmann
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
Héloïse Cardinal
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP), Edmonton, AL T6G 2E1, Canada
Marc Cloutier
Héma-Québec, Affaires Médicales et Innovation, Québec, QC G1V 5C3, Canada
Renée Bazin
Héma-Québec, Affaires Médicales et Innovation, Québec, QC G1V 5C3, Canada
Ralf Duerr
Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
Mélanie Dieudé
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP), Edmonton, AL T6G 2E1, Canada; Héma-Québec, Affaires Médicales et Innovation, Québec, QC G1V 5C3, Canada
Marie-Josée Hébert
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP), Edmonton, AL T6G 2E1, Canada; Département de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; Corresponding author
Andrés Finzi
Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Département de Microbiologie, Infectiologie et Immunologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada; Corresponding author
Summary: Although SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination has been shown to be safe and effective in the general population, immunocompromised solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) were reported to have impaired immune responses after one or two doses of vaccine. In this study, we examined humoral responses induced after the second and the third dose of mRNA vaccine in different SOTR (kidney, liver, lung, and heart). Compared to a cohort of SARS-CoV-2 naïve immunocompetent health care workers (HCWs), the second dose induced weak humoral responses in SOTRs, except for the liver recipients. The third dose boosted these responses but they did not reach the same level as in HCW. Interestingly, although the neutralizing activity against Delta and Omicron variants remained very low after the third dose, Fc-mediated effector functions in SOTR reached similar levels as in the HCW cohort. Whether these responses will suffice to protect SOTR from severe outcome remains to be determined.
