Department of Clinical Laboratory, Taizhou Hospital, Zhejiang University, Linhai, 317000, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai 317000, China.
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Taizhou Hospital, Zhejiang University, Linhai, 317000, China.
Int Immunopharmacol. 2023 Jun;119:110151. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110151. Epub 2023 Apr 5.
Waning vaccine-induced immunity and emergence of new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants which may lead to immune escape, pose a major threat to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, enhanced efficacy of the neutralization antibodies (NAb) produced after the booster dose of vaccinations against the Omicron variant is the main focus of vaccine strategy research. In this study we have analyzed the potency of the NAbs and IgGs produced after the third vaccine dose in patients infected with Omicron variant and wild-type (WT) SARS-CoV-2.
We enrolled 75 patients with Omicron variant breakthrough infections, and 87 patients with WT infections. We recorded the clinical characteristics and vaccination information of all patients and measured the NAb and anti-S1 (spike protein) + N (nucleocapsid protein) IgG-binding antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in serum samples of Omicron variant-infected patients at admission, and patients with WT COVID-19 infection from the time of admission and discharge, and one-year to two-years follow-ups.
Our results demonstrated higher NAb levels, fewer clinical symptoms, and faster viral shedding in Omicron variant infected patients vaccinated with the booster dose. Hybrid immunity (natural infection plus vaccination) induces higher NAb levels than vaccine-only immunity. NAb and IgG levels decreased significantly at one-year follow-up in WT convalescents with natural infection. The NAb and IgG levels in booster-vaccinated COVID-19 patients were higher than those in two-dose-vaccinated patients.
Our results suggest that booster vaccinations are required to improve the level of protective NAbs. Moreover, our data provide important evidence for vaccination strategies based on existing vaccines.
疫苗诱导的免疫逐渐减弱，以及新的严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2 型（SARS-CoV-2）变种的出现可能导致免疫逃逸，这对 COVID-19 大流行构成了重大威胁。目前，针对奥密克戎变种的加强针接种后产生的中和抗体（NAb）的增强效力是疫苗策略研究的主要焦点。在这项研究中，我们分析了感染奥密克戎变种和野生型（WT）SARS-CoV-2 的患者接种第三剂疫苗后产生的 NAb 和 IgG 的效力。
我们招募了 75 名感染奥密克戎变种突破性感染的患者和 87 名感染 WT 的患者。我们记录了所有患者的临床特征和疫苗接种信息，并在奥密克戎变种感染患者入院时以及 WT COVID-19 感染患者入院和出院时以及一到两年的随访中测量了血清样本中的 NAb 和抗 S1（刺突蛋白）+N（核衣壳蛋白）针对 SARS-CoV-2 的 IgG 结合抗体。
我们的结果表明，在接种加强针的奥密克戎变种感染患者中，NAb 水平更高，临床症状更少，病毒脱落更快。混合免疫（自然感染加疫苗接种）诱导的 NAb 水平高于仅疫苗接种免疫。在 WT 恢复期自然感染的患者中，NAb 和 IgG 水平在一年随访时显著下降。加强针接种 COVID-19 患者的 NAb 和 IgG 水平高于两剂接种患者。
我们的结果表明，需要加强针接种以提高保护性 NAb 水平。此外，我们的数据为基于现有疫苗的接种策略提供了重要证据。
