Viruses (Aug 2022)

Protective Immunity of COVID-19 Vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Following Previous SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Humoral and Cellular Investigation

  • Tamiris Azamor,
  • Ingrid Siciliano Horbach,
  • Danielle Brito e Cunha,
  • Juliana Gil Melgaço,
  • Andréa Marques Vieira da Silva,
  • Luciana Neves Tubarão,
  • Adriana de Souza Azevedo,
  • Renata Tourinho Santos,
  • Nathalia dos Santos Alves,
  • Thiago Lazari Machado,
  • Jane Silva,
  • Alessandro Fonseca de Souza,
  • Camilla Bayma,
  • Vanessa Pimenta Rocha,
  • Ana Beatriz Teixeira Frederico,
  • Brenda de Moura Dias,
  • Bruno Pimenta Setatino,
  • Caio Bidueira Denani,
  • Samir Pereira da Costa Campos,
  • Waleska Dias Schwarcz,
  • Michel Vergne Sucupira,
  • Edinea Pastro Mendes,
  • Edimilson Domingos da Silva,
  • Sheila Maria Barbosa de Lima,
  • Ana Paula Dinis Ano Bom,
  • Sotiris Missailidis

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v14091916
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 9
p. 1916

Abstract

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Infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 induce a severe acute respiratory syndrome called COVID-19 and have led to more than six million deaths worldwide. Vaccination is the most effective preventative measure, and cellular and humoral immunity is crucial to developing individual protection. Here, we aim to investigate hybrid immunity against SARS-CoV-2 triggered by the ChAadOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a Brazilian cohort. We investigated the immune response from ChAadOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination in naïve (noCOVID-19) and previously infected individuals (COVID-19) by analyzing levels of D-dimers, total IgG, neutralizing antibodies (Nabs), IFN-γ (interferon-γ) secretion, and immunophenotyping of memory lymphocytes. No significant differences in D-dimer levels were observed 7 or 15 days after vaccination (DAV). All vaccinated individuals presented higher levels of total IgG or Nabs with a positive correlation (R = 0.88). Individuals in the COVID-19 group showed higher levels of antibody and memory B cells, with a faster antibody response starting at 7 DAV compared to noCOVID-19 at 15 DAV. Further, ChAadOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination led to enhanced IFN-γ production (15 DAV) and an increase in activated T CD4+ naïve cells in noCOVID-19 individuals in contrast with COVID-19 individuals. Hence, our data support that hybrid immunity triggered by ChAadOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination is associated with enhanced humoral response, together with a balanced cellular response.

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