Di Chiara, Costanza;
Cantarutti, Anna;
Raffaella Petrara, Maria;
Bonfante, Francesco;
Benetti, Elisa;
Boracchini, Riccardo;
Bosa, Luca;
... Padoan, Andrea; + view all
(2024)
Stronger and durable SARS-CoV-2 immune response to mRNA vaccines in 5–11 years old children with prior COVID-19.
Vaccine
, 42
(2)
pp. 263-270.
10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.12.006.
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Abstract
Background and objectives: mRNA vaccines elicit a durable humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 in adults, whereas evidence in children is scarce. This study aimed to assess the early and long-term immune response to the mRNA vaccine in children with or without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. // Methods: In a multicentre prospective observational study, we profiled the immune response to the Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine in 5–11-year-old children attending the University Pediatric Hospital of Padua and Bambino-Gesù Hospital in Rome (Italy) from December-2021 to February-2023. Blood samples were collected pre-, 1-, and 6-months after vaccination. Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) and anti-spike-receptor-binding-domain (anti-S-RBD) IgG titers were analyzed through Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT) and chemiluminescent immune-enzymatic assay (CLIA), respectively. Immune cell phenotypes were analyzed by flow cytometry. // Results: Sixty children (26 [43 %] female, median age = 8 years [IQR = 7–10.7]) were enrolled in the study, including 46 children with a laboratory-confirmed previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2-recovered) and 14 SARS-CoV-2-naïve participants defined as the absence of antigen-specific antibodies before vaccination. SARS-CoV-2-recovered participants recorded higher anti-S-RBD IgG and Wild-type and Omicron BA.2 NAbs titers than SARS-CoV-2-naïve participants at both 1- and 6-months after vaccination. Antibody titers correlated with T (Tregs) and B (Bregs) regulatory cell frequencies in SARS-CoV-2-recovered children. Both SARS-CoV-2-recovered and SARS-CoV-2-naïve participants decreased antibody titers by approximately 100 to 250 % from 1 to 6 months. While children with immunocompromising underlying conditions developed immune responses comparable to those of healthy children, solid organ transplant recipients exhibited lower levels of NAbs and anti-S-RBD IgG titers, as well as reduced frequencies of Tregs and Bregs. // Conclusions: mRNA vaccination triggered a higher production of specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies along with increased levels of regulatory cells in children with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection up to the following 6 months. These findings provide insights into boosting pre-existing immunity.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Stronger and durable SARS-CoV-2 immune response to mRNA vaccines in 5–11 years old children with prior COVID-19 |
| Location: | Netherlands |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.12.006 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.12.006 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine; Comirnaty; 5–11-year-old children; T and B regulatory cells; SARS-CoV-2 anti-S-RBD antibody; SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology > MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10184685 |
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