Longitudinal evaluation of innate immune responses to three doses of CoronaVac vaccine

Cheng Cao; Junfeng Jiang; Min Liu; Yaping Dai; Tianzhi Chang; Tuo Ji; Fang Gong

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1277831

Longitudinal evaluation of innate immune responses to three doses of CoronaVac vaccine

Front Immunol. 2023 Oct 2:14:1277831. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1277831. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Cheng Cao^{1

2}, Junfeng Jiang^{1

3}, Min Liu⁴, Yaping Dai⁵, Tianzhi Chang^{1

3}, Tuo Ji¹, Fang Gong^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jiangnan University Medical Center, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, Changzhou Jintan First People's Hospital, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China.
³ Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
⁴ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
⁵ Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Fifth People's Hospital of Wuxi Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.

Abstract

The adaptive immune responses induced by inactivated COVID-19 vaccine has been extensively studied. However, few studies have analyzed the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on innate immune cells. Here in this study, we recruited 62 healthcare workers who received three doses of CoronaVac vaccine and longitudinally profiled the alterations of peripheral monocytes and NK cells during vaccination. The results showed that both the monocyte and NK cell subsets distribution were altered, although the frequencies of the total monocyte and NK cells remained stable during the vaccination. Additionally, we found that both the 2^nd and 3^rd dose of CoronaVac vaccination elicited robust IFN-γ-producing NK cell response. Our data provided necessary insights on innate immune responses in the context of three homologous CoronaVac dose vaccination, and supplied immunological basis for the future design of inactivated vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 or other viruses.

Keywords: CoronaVac; IFN-γ; innate immunity; monocytes; natural killer cells; vaccination.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Immunity, Innate
SARS-CoV-2
Vaccines*

Substances

sinovac COVID-19 vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccines
Vaccines

Grants and funding

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (82270034), Jiangsu Province “333” Project (BRA2019152), and Top Talent Support Program for young and middle-aged people of Wuxi Health Committee (BJ2020059).