tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Immunol
. 2026 Sep 21:17:1920061.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1920061. eCollection 2026.
Takaya Kitano # 1 2 , Masakazu Ishikawa # 3 4 , Makoto Kinoshita 2 , Keigo Kihara 2 , Shuhei Sakakibara 5 6 , Tomohiro Yata 2 , Ryohei Yamamura 2 , Hideki Mochizuki 2 7 , Masaru Yokoe 1 , Tatsusada Okuno 2 , Daisuke Okuzaki 3 4 8 9
Affiliations Expand
Introduction: Some cerebral demyelinating lesions occur after vaccination. We aimed to elucidate the precise roles of vaccine-activated immune cells and antigen-specific lymphocytes in the central nervous system of a patient who developed cerebral demyelination after vaccination.
Methods: Using comprehensive single-cell RNA sequencing and immune repertoire analysis combined with a lymphocyte stimulation assay, we characterized the immunological landscape of a patient who developed right-hand clumsiness after receiving an mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and was subsequently diagnosed with tumefactive cerebral demyelination.
Results: Natural killer cells and effector CD8+ T cells in the cerebrospinal fluid were more cytotoxic and activated than those in healthy controls. Effector CD8+ T cells specific to SARS-CoV-2 spike peptides were identified in the cerebrospinal fluid. The proportion of these cells in peripheral blood decreased after corticosteroid therapy, in parallel with clinical improvement and a reduction in lesion size.
Discussion: Although a direct causal relationship between vaccination and demyelination remains uncertain, our findings suggest that vaccine-activated cytotoxic lymphocytes contribute to immune-mediated demyelinating events in the central nervous system.
Keywords: T cell; demyelination; multiple sclerosis; natural killer cells; repertoire; single cell; vaccination.
. 2026 Sep 21:17:1920061.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1920061. eCollection 2026.
Identification of SARS-CoV-2-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes in cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with cerebral demyelination Post mRNA vaccination
Takaya Kitano # 1 2 , Masakazu Ishikawa # 3 4 , Makoto Kinoshita 2 , Keigo Kihara 2 , Shuhei Sakakibara 5 6 , Tomohiro Yata 2 , Ryohei Yamamura 2 , Hideki Mochizuki 2 7 , Masaru Yokoe 1 , Tatsusada Okuno 2 , Daisuke Okuzaki 3 4 8 9
Affiliations Expand
- PMID: 42834940
- PMCID: PMC13634803
- DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1920061
Abstract
Introduction: Some cerebral demyelinating lesions occur after vaccination. We aimed to elucidate the precise roles of vaccine-activated immune cells and antigen-specific lymphocytes in the central nervous system of a patient who developed cerebral demyelination after vaccination.
Methods: Using comprehensive single-cell RNA sequencing and immune repertoire analysis combined with a lymphocyte stimulation assay, we characterized the immunological landscape of a patient who developed right-hand clumsiness after receiving an mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and was subsequently diagnosed with tumefactive cerebral demyelination.
Results: Natural killer cells and effector CD8+ T cells in the cerebrospinal fluid were more cytotoxic and activated than those in healthy controls. Effector CD8+ T cells specific to SARS-CoV-2 spike peptides were identified in the cerebrospinal fluid. The proportion of these cells in peripheral blood decreased after corticosteroid therapy, in parallel with clinical improvement and a reduction in lesion size.
Discussion: Although a direct causal relationship between vaccination and demyelination remains uncertain, our findings suggest that vaccine-activated cytotoxic lymphocytes contribute to immune-mediated demyelinating events in the central nervous system.
Keywords: T cell; demyelination; multiple sclerosis; natural killer cells; repertoire; single cell; vaccination.