Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines elicit immunogenicity and T-cell responses in people living with HIV

• Published in: International immunopharmacology 2022-01, Vol.102, p.108383-108383, Article 108383
• Main Authors: Lv, Zhengchao, Li, Qin, Feng, Zaixiong, Zheng, Xi, NaYin, Yang, Haihao, Gu, Qianlan, Ying, Sai, Qi, Yan, Li, Xiaosi, Wu, Runfang, Wu, Zhao, Yu, Xiyu, Zou, Nanting, Qin, Dongdong, Wan, Chunping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Antibodies; Antibodies, Neutralizing - blood; Antibodies, Viral - blood; CD4 antigen; CD8 antigen; Correlation analysis; COVID-19; COVID-19 - immunology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 Vaccines - administration & dosage; COVID-19 Vaccines - immunology; Cytokines; Deactivation; Enumeration; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Female; Flow cytometry; Healthy Volunteers; Helper cells; HIV; HIV Infections - blood; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - immunology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immunization; Immunogenicity; Immunogenicity, Vaccine; Immunological memory; Inoculation; Interleukin 2; Intracellular; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes B; Lymphocytes T; Male; Memory cells; Memory T Cells - immunology; Middle Aged; mRNA; Neutralization; Neutralizing; Neutralizing antibodies; Peripheral blood; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; SARS-CoV-2 vaccines; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike protein; Th17 Cells - immunology; Th2 Cells - immunology; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Vaccines; Vaccines, Inactivated - administration & dosage; Vaccines, Inactivated - immunology; γ-Interferon
• ISSN: 1567-5769; 1878-1705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2021.108383

•HIV-positive individuals and healthy donors have comparable neutralizing antibodies positive rates.•PLWH display weaker responses to inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in magnitude, which is associated with lower counts of CD4 and B cells.•SARS-2-S-induced Th2 and Th17 responses are also decreased in HIV-positive individuals. To date, the effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines on people living with HIV (PLWH) were mainly focused on messenger RNA (mRNA) and adenovirus vector-based vaccines, and little is known about the effects of inactivated virus-based vaccine. This study was designed to determine the effects of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines on PLWH. Twenty-four HIV-positive individuals and 24 healthy donors (HD) were respectively recruited from Malipo Country People's Hospital and community in Kunming city. Enumeration of lymphocyte and CD4+CD45RO+ memory T cells were evaluated by flow cytometry. Competitive ELISA was used to measure the level of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralization antibody. Spearman or Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between laboratory indicators and neutralization antibodies in PLWH. T-cell responses (Th1, Th2, Th17, Treg) and intracellular expression of cytokines (IL-2 and TNF-α) in CD4 or CD8 were induced by spike protein in SARS-CoV-2 (SARS-2-S) and further measured by intracellular staining. CD4, B cells, CD4+CD45RO+ memory T cells in peripheral blood of PLWH are dramatically decreased in comparison with HD. Importantly, PLWH display comparable neutralizing antibody positive rate to HD after inoculation with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. However, PLWH showed weaker responses to vaccines exhibited by lower levels of neutralizing antibodies. Correlation analysis shows that this is possibly caused by low number of CD4 and B cells. Furthermore, SARS-2-S-induced Th2 and Th17 responses are also decreased in PLWH, while no influences on Treg and other cytokines (IL-2, TNF-α and IFN-γ) observed. PLWH and HD have comparable neutralizing antibodies positive rates, but PLWH display weaker responses to inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in magnitude, which suggests that a booster dose or dose adjustment are required for HIV-infected individuals, especially for those with lower counts of CD4 T and B cells.