Dichotomy between the humoral and cellular responses elicited by mRNA and adenoviral vector vaccines against SARS-CoV-2

• Published in: BMC medicine Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 32 - 7
• Main Authors: Ukey, Rahul, Bruiners, Natalie, Mishra, Hridesh, Mishra, Pankaj K., McCloskey, Deborah, Onyuka, Alberta, Chen, Fei, Pinter, Abraham, Weiskopf, Daniela, Sette, Alessandro, Roy, Jason, Gaur, Sunanda, Gennaro, Maria Laura
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 25.01.2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Ad26.COV2.S; Ad26COVS1; Analysis; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral; Antibody binding; Antigen-antibody reactions; Antigen-specific B cells; Antigens; BNT162b2; Cell culture; Correspondence; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Durability; FDA approval; Hospital care; Humans; Immunity, Humoral; Immunization; Immunogenicity; Immunology; Infections; Laboratories; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; mRNA; mRNA Vaccines; mRNA-1273; Neutralizing antibodies; Pandemics; Peptides; Plasma; Prevention; Proteins; Public health; Regression analysis; RNA, Messenger - genetics; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Software; Testing; Vaccination; Vaccines; Viral diseases; Viral infections; United States; United States > US; BNT162b2; Neutralizing antibodies; Ad26.COV2.S; mRNA-1273; Antigen-specific B cells; Antibody binding; Antigen-specific T cells
• ISSN: 1741-7015; 1741-7015
• DOI: 10.1186/s12916-022-02252-0

Protection from severe disease and hospitalization by SARS-CoV-2 vaccination has been amply demonstrated by real-world data. However, the rapidly evolving pandemic raises new concerns. One pertains efficacy of adenoviral vector-based vaccines, particularly the single-dose Ad26.COV2.S, relative to mRNA vaccines. We investigated the immunogenicity of Ad26.COV2.S and mRNA vaccines in 33 subjects vaccinated with either vaccine class 5 months earlier on average. After controlling for the time since vaccination, Spike-binding antibody and neutralizing antibody levels were higher in the mRNA-vaccinated subjects, while no significant differences in antigen-specific B cell and T cell responses were observed between the two groups. A dichotomy exists between the humoral and cellular responses elicited by the two vaccine classes. Testing only for humoral responses to compare the durability of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced responses, as typically performed for public health and research purposes, is insufficient.