tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Sci Rep
. 2021 Dec 17;11(1):24198.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-03685-y.
No neutralizing effect of pre-existing tick-borne encephalitis virus antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2: a prospective healthcare worker study
Philipp Kohler[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hulda R Jonsdottir[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 3 4 5 [/SUP], Lorenz Risch[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Pietro Vernazza[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Rahel Ackermann-Gäumann[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Christian R Kahlert[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 7 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Certain immunizations including vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) have been suggested to confer cross-protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Within a prospective healthcare worker (HCW) cohort, we assessed the potentially protective role of anti-TBEV antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among 3352 HCW, those with ≥ 1 previous TBEV vaccination (n = 2018, 60%) showed a reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion (adjusted odds ratio: 0.8, 95% CI: 0.7-1.0, P = 0.02). However, laboratory testing of a subgroup of 26 baseline and follow-up samples did not demonstrate any neutralizing effect of anti-TBEV antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in live-virus neutralization assay. However, we observed significantly higher anti-TBEV antibody titers in follow-up samples of participants with previous TBEV vaccination compared to baseline, both TBEV neutralizing (p = 0.001) and total IgG (P < 0.0001), irrespective of SARS-CoV-2 serostatus. Based on these data, we conclude that the observed association of previous TBEV vaccination and reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely due to residual confounding factors. The increase in TBEV follow-up antibody titers can be explained by natural TBEV exposure or potential non-specific immune activation upon exposure to various pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. We believe that these findings, although negative, contribute to the current knowledge on potential cross-immunity against SARS-CoV-2 from previous immunizations.
. 2021 Dec 17;11(1):24198.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-03685-y.
No neutralizing effect of pre-existing tick-borne encephalitis virus antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2: a prospective healthcare worker study
Philipp Kohler[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hulda R Jonsdottir[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 3 4 5 [/SUP], Lorenz Risch[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Pietro Vernazza[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Rahel Ackermann-Gäumann[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 2 3 [/SUP], Christian R Kahlert[SUP] #[/SUP][SUP] 7 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34921220
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03685-y
Abstract
Certain immunizations including vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) have been suggested to confer cross-protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Within a prospective healthcare worker (HCW) cohort, we assessed the potentially protective role of anti-TBEV antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among 3352 HCW, those with ≥ 1 previous TBEV vaccination (n = 2018, 60%) showed a reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion (adjusted odds ratio: 0.8, 95% CI: 0.7-1.0, P = 0.02). However, laboratory testing of a subgroup of 26 baseline and follow-up samples did not demonstrate any neutralizing effect of anti-TBEV antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in live-virus neutralization assay. However, we observed significantly higher anti-TBEV antibody titers in follow-up samples of participants with previous TBEV vaccination compared to baseline, both TBEV neutralizing (p = 0.001) and total IgG (P < 0.0001), irrespective of SARS-CoV-2 serostatus. Based on these data, we conclude that the observed association of previous TBEV vaccination and reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely due to residual confounding factors. The increase in TBEV follow-up antibody titers can be explained by natural TBEV exposure or potential non-specific immune activation upon exposure to various pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. We believe that these findings, although negative, contribute to the current knowledge on potential cross-immunity against SARS-CoV-2 from previous immunizations.