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Published on: December 1, 2023
Longitudinal T-Cell Responses After a Third SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis on Ocrelizumab
Virginia Palomares Cabeza1, Laura Y L Kummer2, Luuk Wieske1
1From the Department of Immunopathology (V.P.C., L.Y.L.K., M.D., V.A.L.K., N.J.M.V., M.S., T.R., G.W., S.M.v.H., A.t.B.), Sanquin Research and Landsteiner Laboratory, Amsterdam UMC; Department of Neurology and Neurophysiology (L.K., L.W., K.P.J.v.D., E.W.S., F.E.), Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, University of Amsterdam; Department of Hematopoiesis (R.R.H., C.E.v.d.S.), Sanquin Research and Landsteiner Laboratory, Amsterdam UMC; Department of Experimental Immunohematology (R.R.H.), Sanquin Research and Landsteiner Laboratory, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Microbiology and Immunology (C.E.v.d.S.), University of Melbourne, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Victoria, Australia; Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center (L.B., G.W.), location Reade, Department of Rheumatology; Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center (S.W.T.), Amsterdam UMC, Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Amsterdam; Department of Neurology (J.K., Z.L.E.v.K.), Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit; Department 32 of Pediatric Immunology (T.W.K.), Rheumatology and Infectious Disease, Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, University of Amsterdam; and Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (S.M.v.H.), University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Objectives:
To evaluate whether a third vaccination shows an added effect on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) T-cell responses in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with ocrelizumab or fingolimod.
Methods:
This is a substudy of a prospective multicenter study on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with immune-mediated diseases. Patients with MS treated with ocrelizumab, fingolimod, and no disease-modifying therapies and healthy controls were included. The number of interferon (IFN)-γ secreting SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells at multiple time points before and after 3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations were evaluated.
Results:
In ocrelizumab-treated patients (N = 24), IFN-γ-producing SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses were induced after 2 vaccinations with median levels comparable to healthy controls (N = 12) and patients with MS without disease-modifying therapies (N = 10). A third vaccination in ocrelizumab-treated patients (N = 8) boosted T-cell responses that had declined after the second vaccination, but did not lead to higher overall T-cell responses as compared to immediately after a second vaccination. In fingolimod-treated patients, no SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were detected after second (N = 12) and third (N = 9) vaccinations.
Discussion:
In ocrelizumab-treated patients with MS, a third SARS-CoV-2 vaccination had no additive effect on the maximal T-cell response but did induce a boost response. In fingolimod-treated patients, no T-cell responses could be detected following both a second and third SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.
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