International Journal of Infectious Diseases (Feb 2024)
Long-term efficacy of the peptide-based COVID-19 T cell activator CoVac-1 in healthy adults
- Claudia Tandler,
- Jonas S. Heitmann,
- Tanja M. Michel,
- Maddalena Marconato,
- Simon U. Jaeger,
- Christian M. Tegeler,
- Monika Denk,
- Marion Richter,
- Melek Tutku Oezbek,
- Yacine Maringer,
- Sarah M. Schroeder,
- Nicole Schneiderhan-Marra,
- Karl-Heinz Wiesmüller,
- Michael Bitzer,
- Natalia Ruetalo,
- Michael Schindler,
- Christoph Meisner,
- Imma Fischer,
- Hans-Georg Rammensee,
- Helmut R. Salih,
- Juliane S. Walz
Affiliations
- Claudia Tandler
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Jonas S. Heitmann
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Tanja M. Michel
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tübingen, Reutlingen, Germany
- Maddalena Marconato
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Simon U. Jaeger
- Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute for Clinical Pharmacology, Stuttgart, Germany; Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Christian M. Tegeler
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Monika Denk
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Marion Richter
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Melek Tutku Oezbek
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Yacine Maringer
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Sarah M. Schroeder
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Nicole Schneiderhan-Marra
- NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tübingen, Reutlingen, Germany
- Karl-Heinz Wiesmüller
- EMC microcollections GmbH, Tübingen, Germany
- Michael Bitzer
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Natalia Ruetalo
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Michael Schindler
- Institute for Medical Virology and Epidemiology of Viral Diseases, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Christoph Meisner
- Robert Bosch Hospital, Robert Bosch Society for Medical Research, Stuttgart, Germany
- Imma Fischer
- Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Applied Biometry, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Hans-Georg Rammensee
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Helmut R. Salih
- Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Juliane S. Walz
- Department of Peptide-based Immunotherapy, Institute of Immunology, University and University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence iFIT (EXC2180) “Image-Guided and Functionally Instructed Tumor Therapies”, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Clinical Collaboration Unit Translational Immunology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-7071-2987305; fax: +49-7071-294391.
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 139
pp. 69 – 77
Abstract
Objectives: T cell immunity is key for the control of viral infections including SARS-CoV-2, in particular with regard to immune memory and protection against arising genetic variants. Methods: We recently evaluated a peptide-based SARS-CoV-2 T cell activator termed CoVac-1 in a first-in-human trial in healthy adults. Here, we report on long-term safety and efficacy data of CoVac-1 until month 12. Results: CoVac-1 is well tolerated without long-term immune-related side effects and induces long-lasting anti-viral T cell responses in 100% of study participants, with potent expandability of clusters of differentiation (CD4+) and CD8+ T cells targeting multiple different CoVac-1 T cell epitopes. T cell responses were associated with stronger injection site reaction. Beyond induction of T cell immunity, 89% of subjects developed CoVac-1-specific immunoglobulin G antibodies which associated with the intensity of the T cell response, indicating that CoVac-1-specific CD4+ T cells support the induction of B-cell responses. Vaccination with approved COVID-19 vaccines boosted CoVac-1-specific T cell responses. Overall, a low SARS-CoV-2 infection rate (8.3%) was observed. Conclusion: Together, a single application of CoVac-1 elicits long-lived and broad SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity, which further supports the current evaluation of our T cell activator in patients with congenital or acquired B-cell defects.
