Effect of biologic therapy on the humoral immune response to the BNT162b2 vaccine in patients with asthma

Respir Investig. 2023 Nov;61(6):733-737. doi: 10.1016/j.resinv.2023.07.006. Epub 2023 Sep 13.

Abstract

The effect of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and biologics on the humoral immune response following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccination in patients with asthma is unknown. We prospectively evaluated the humoral immune response 3 weeks (T1) and 6 months (T2) after the second dose of BNT162b2 in 30 SARS-CoV-2-naïve patients with asthma. We measured anti-spike immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers and serum-neutralizing activity against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain. The anti-spike IgG titer and neutralizing activity did not differ significantly between the biologics and non-biologics groups at T1 (P = 0.708 and P = 0.417, respectively) or T2 (P = 0.299 and P = 0.492, respectively). In the multivariate analysis, age and sex were significantly associated with the magnitude of the humoral immune response; however, the use of biologics and ICS dose were not, suggesting that these would not affect BNT162b2 immunogenicity in patients with asthma. Larger studies are needed to validate these findings.

Keywords: Asthma; Biologic agents; Immunogenicity; Inhaled corticosteroids; SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine.

MeSH terms

  • Asthma* / drug therapy
  • BNT162 Vaccine
  • Biological Products*
  • Biological Therapy
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Humoral
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Vaccines*

Substances

  • BNT162 Vaccine
  • Vaccines
  • Biological Products
  • Immunoglobulin G