Humoral immunity in dually vaccinated SARS-CoV-2-naïve individuals and in booster-vaccinated COVID-19-convalescent subjects

• Published in: Infection 2022-12, Vol.50 (6), p.1475-1481
• Main Authors: Glück, Vivian, Tydykov, Leonid, Mader, Anna-Lena, Warda, Anne-Sophie, Bertok, Manuela, Weidlich, Tanja, Gottwald, Christine, Köstler, Josef, Salzberger, Bernd, Wagner, Ralf, Koller, Michael, Gessner, André, Schmidt, Barbara, Glück, Thomas, Peterhoff, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ACE2; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2; Antibodies; Antibodies, Neutralizing; Antibodies, Viral; Avidity; Binding; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 vaccines; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Family Medicine; General Practice; Humans; Humoral immunity; Immune response; Immune response (humoral); Immune system; Immunity; Immunity, Humoral; Immunoglobulin A; Immunoglobulin G; Immunology; Infectious Diseases; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neutralization; Original Paper; Receptors; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Subgroups; Vaccination
• ISSN: 0300-8126; 1439-0973
• DOI: 10.1007/s15010-022-01817-8

Background The immune response to COVID-19-vaccination differs between naïve vaccinees and those who were previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. Longitudinal quantitative and qualitative serological differences in these two distinct immunological subgroups in response to vaccination are currently not well studied. Methods We investigate a cohort of SARS-CoV-2-naïve and COVID-19-convalescent individuals immediately after vaccination and 6 months later. We use different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) variants and a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) to measure IgG serum titers, IgA serum reactivity, IgG serum avidity and neutralization capacity by ACE2 receptor competition. Results Anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) antibody titers decline over time in dually vaccinated COVID-19 naïves whereas titers in single dose vaccinated COVID-19 convalescents are higher and more durable. Similarly, antibody avidity is considerably higher among boosted COVID-19 convalescent subjects as compared to dually vaccinated COVID-19-naïve subjects. Furthermore, sera from boosted convalescents inhibited the binding of spike-protein to ACE2 more efficiently than sera from dually vaccinated COVID-19-naïve subjects. Conclusions Long-term humoral immunity differs substantially between dually vaccinated SARS-CoV-2-naïve and COVID-19-convalescent individuals. Booster vaccination after COVID-19 induces a more durable humoral immune response in terms of magnitude and quality as compared to two-dose vaccination in a SARS-CoV-2-naïve background.