Is serological response to SARS-CoV-2 preserved in MS patients on ocrelizumab treatment? A case report

Matteo Lucchini1, Assunta Bianco1, Paola Del Giacomo2

  • 1Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Agostino Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy; Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.

The emergency represented by the COVID-19 pandemic represents a new challenge for clinicians who deal with autoimmune diseases because of patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. Few cases of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients receiving ocrelizumab who contracted COVID-19 with a benign course have recently been published. We present the case of a MS patient with mild COVID-19 who developed SARS-CoV-2 specific IgA without IgG ten weeks after infection. Patients on B-cell depleting drugs have a reduced antibody immune response to viral neoantigens. A relative sparing of mucosal-associated lymphoid tissues (MALT) could be responsible for IgA response in our patient.

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