Associations of myeloid cells with cellular and humoral responses following vaccinations in patients with neuroimmunological diseases

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 7728
• Main Authors: Wang, Meng, Dehlinger, Adeline, Zapata, Camila Fernández, Golan, Maya, Gallaccio, Gerardina, Sander, Leif E., Schlickeiser, Stephan, Kunkel, Desiree, Schmitz-Hübsch, Tanja, Sawitzki, Birgit, Karni, Arnon, Braun, Julian, Loyal, Lucie, Thiel, Andreas, Bellmann-Strobl, Judith, Paul, Friedemann, Meyer-Arndt, Lil, Böttcher, Chotima
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 25.11.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13; 13/31; 49; 49/31; 631/250/371; 692/617/375/1411/1666; Autoimmune diseases; Cytometry; Humanities and Social Sciences; Immune system; Innate immunity; Leukocytes (granulocytic); Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; mRNA; multidisciplinary; Multiple sclerosis; Myeloid cells; Neuromyelitis; Phenotypes; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Vaccination; Viral diseases
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43553-z

Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) are widely used in neuroimmunological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Although these treatments are known to predispose patients to infections and affect their responses to vaccination, little is known about the impact of DMTs on the myeloid cell compartment. In this study, we use mass cytometry to examine DMT-associated changes in the innate immune system in untreated and treated patients with MS ( n  = 39) or NMOSD ( n  = 23). We also investigated the association between changes in myeloid cell phenotypes and longitudinal responsiveness to homologous primary, secondary, and tertiary SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations. Multiple DMT-associated myeloid cell clusters, in particular CD64 + HLADR low granulocytes, showed significant correlations with B and T cell responses induced by vaccination. Our findings suggest the potential role of myeloid cells in cellular and humoral responses following vaccination in DMT-treated patients with neuroimmunological diseases. Patients with autoimmune diseases require immunosuppressive treatments that affect their responses to infection and vaccination. Here, using mass cytometry, the authors to identify a role for myeloid cells in cellular and humoral responses following vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with neuroimmunological diseases.