- Main
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination elicits a robust and persistent T follicular helper cell response in humans
- Mudd, Philip A;
- Minervina, Anastasia A;
- Pogorelyy, Mikhail V;
- Turner, Jackson S;
- Kim, Wooseob;
- Kalaidina, Elizaveta;
- Petersen, Jan;
- Schmitz, Aaron J;
- Lei, Tingting;
- Haile, Alem;
- Kirk, Allison M;
- Mettelman, Robert C;
- Crawford, Jeremy Chase;
- Nguyen, Thi HO;
- Rowntree, Louise C;
- Rosati, Elisa;
- Richards, Katherine A;
- Sant, Andrea J;
- Klebert, Michael K;
- Suessen, Teresa;
- Middleton, William D;
- Team, SJTRC Study;
- Estepp, Jeremie H;
- Schultz-Cherry, Stacey;
- McGargill, Maureen A;
- Gaur, Aditya;
- Hoffman, James;
- Mori, Motomi;
- Tang, Li;
- Tuomanen, Elaine;
- Webby, Richard;
- Hayden, Randall T;
- Hakim, Hana;
- Hijano, Diego R;
- Allison, Kim J;
- Allen, E Kaitlynn;
- Bajracharya, Resha;
- Awad, Walid;
- Van de Velde, Lee-Ann;
- Clark, Brandi L;
- Wilson, Taylor L;
- Souquette, Aisha;
- Castellaw, Ashley;
- Dallas, Ronald H;
- Gowen, Ashleigh;
- Fabrizio, Thomas P;
- Lin, Chun-Yang;
- Brice, David C;
- Cherry, Sean;
- Roubidoux, Ericka Kirkpatrick;
- Cortez, Valerie;
- Freiden, Pamela;
- Wohlgemuth, Nicholas;
- Whitt, Kendall;
- Wolf, Joshua;
- Teefey, Sharlene A;
- O’Halloran, Jane A;
- Presti, Rachel M;
- Kedzierska, Katherine;
- Rossjohn, Jamie;
- Thomas, Paul G;
- Ellebedy, Ali H
Published Web Location
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.026Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines induce robust anti-spike (S) antibody and CD4+ T cell responses. It is not yet clear whether vaccine-induced follicular helper CD4+ T (TFH) cell responses contribute to this outstanding immunogenicity. Using fine-needle aspiration of draining axillary lymph nodes from individuals who received the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, we evaluated the T cell receptor sequences and phenotype of lymph node TFH. Mining of the responding TFH T cell receptor repertoire revealed a strikingly immunodominant HLA-DPB1∗04-restricted response to S167-180 in individuals with this allele, which is among the most common HLA alleles in humans. Paired blood and lymph node specimens show that while circulating S-specific TFH cells peak one week after the second immunization, S-specific TFH persist at nearly constant frequencies for at least six months. Collectively, our results underscore the key role that robust TFH cell responses play in establishing long-term immunity by this efficacious human vaccine.
Many UC-authored scholarly publications are freely available on this site because of the UC's open access policies. Let us know how this access is important for you.