Impact of SARS-CoV-2 exposure history on the T cell and IgG response

Roanne Keeton; Marius B Tincho; Akiko Suzuki; Ntombi Benede; Amkele Ngomti; Richard Baguma; Masego V Chauke; Mathilda Mennen; Sango Skelem; Marguerite Adriaanse; Alba Grifoni; Daniela Weiskopf; Alessandro Sette; Linda-Gail Bekker; Glenda Gray; Ntobeko A B Ntusi; Wendy A Burgers; Catherine Riou

doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100898

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 exposure history on the T cell and IgG response

Cell Rep Med. 2023 Jan 17;4(1):100898. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100898. Epub 2022 Dec 22.

Authors

Roanne Keeton¹, Marius B Tincho¹, Akiko Suzuki¹, Ntombi Benede¹, Amkele Ngomti¹, Richard Baguma¹, Masego V Chauke¹, Mathilda Mennen², Sango Skelem², Marguerite Adriaanse², Alba Grifoni³, Daniela Weiskopf³, Alessandro Sette⁴, Linda-Gail Bekker⁵, Glenda Gray⁶, Ntobeko A B Ntusi⁷, Wendy A Burgers⁸, Catherine Riou⁹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
² Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa; Cape Heart Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council Extramural Unit on Intersection of Non-communicable Diseases and Infectious Diseases, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
³ Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
⁴ Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA, USA.
⁵ Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa; Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁶ South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁷ Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa; Cape Heart Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council Extramural Unit on Intersection of Non-communicable Diseases and Infectious Diseases, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁸ Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: wendy.burgers@uct.ac.za.
⁹ Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: cr.riou@uct.ac.za.

Abstract

Multiple severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposures, from infection or vaccination, can potently boost spike antibody responses. Less is known about the impact of repeated exposures on T cell responses. Here, we compare the prevalence and frequency of peripheral SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses in 190 individuals with complex SARS-CoV-2 exposure histories. As expected, an increasing number of SARS-CoV-2 spike exposures significantly enhances the magnitude of IgG responses, while repeated exposures improve the number of T cell responders but have less impact on SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific T cell frequencies in the circulation. Moreover, we find that the number and nature of exposures (rather than the order of infection and vaccination) shape the spike immune response, with spike-specific CD4 T cells displaying a greater polyfunctional potential following hybrid immunity compared with vaccination only. Characterizing adaptive immunity from an evolving viral and immunological landscape may inform vaccine strategies to elicit optimal immunity as the pandemic progress.

Keywords: Ad26.COV2.S vaccine; COVID-19; IgG response; SARS-CoV-2; T cell response; hybrid immunity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Antibody Formation
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Humans
Immunoglobulin G*
SARS-CoV-2
T-Lymphocytes*

Substances

Immunoglobulin G

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding