Frontiers in Immunology (Apr 2022)
Long-Lasting T Cell Responses in BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA Vaccinees and COVID-19 Convalescent Patients
- Antti Hurme,
- Antti Hurme,
- Pinja Jalkanen,
- Jemna Heroum,
- Oona Liedes,
- Saimi Vara,
- Merit Melin,
- Johanna Teräsjärvi,
- Qiushui He,
- Sakari Pöysti,
- Sakari Pöysti,
- Arno Hänninen,
- Arno Hänninen,
- Jarmo Oksi,
- Tytti Vuorinen,
- Tytti Vuorinen,
- Anu Kantele,
- Paula A. Tähtinen,
- Lauri Ivaska,
- Laura Kakkola,
- Johanna Lempainen,
- Johanna Lempainen,
- Ilkka Julkunen,
- Ilkka Julkunen
Affiliations
- Antti Hurme
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Antti Hurme
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Pinja Jalkanen
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Jemna Heroum
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Oona Liedes
- Department of Health Security, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
- Saimi Vara
- Department of Health Security, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
- Merit Melin
- Department of Health Security, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
- Johanna Teräsjärvi
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Qiushui He
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Sakari Pöysti
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Sakari Pöysti
- Clinical Microbiology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Arno Hänninen
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Arno Hänninen
- Clinical Microbiology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Jarmo Oksi
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Tytti Vuorinen
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Tytti Vuorinen
- Clinical Microbiology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Anu Kantele
- Meilahti Vaccine Research Center, MeVac, Department of Infectious Diseases, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Paula A. Tähtinen
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Lauri Ivaska
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Laura Kakkola
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Johanna Lempainen
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Johanna Lempainen
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Ilkka Julkunen
- Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Ilkka Julkunen
- Clinical Microbiology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.869990
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 13
Abstract
The emergence of novel variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has made it more difficult to prevent the virus from spreading despite available vaccines. Reports of breakthrough infections and decreased capacity of antibodies to neutralize variants raise the question whether current vaccines can still protect against COVID-19 disease. We studied the dynamics and persistence of T cell responses using activation induced marker (AIM) assay and Th1 type cytokine production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccinated health care workers and COVID-19 patients. We demonstrate that equally high T cell responses following vaccination and infection persist at least for 6 months against Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants despite the decline in antibody levels.
Keywords
