Detection of pre-existing neutralizing antibodies against Ad26 in HIV-1-infected individuals not responding to the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine

Schmidt K, Harrer E, Schönau V, Simon D, Kleyer A, Steininger P, Korn K, Schett G, Knobloch C, Nganou-Makamdop K, Harrer T (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Infection Springer Verlag (Germany)

DOI: 10.1007/s15010-023-02035-6

Abstract

Purpose: The Ad26.COV2.S vaccine is a replication-incompetent human adenovirus type 26 vector encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. In a phase 1-2a trial, a single dose of Ad26.COV2.S induced SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific antibodies in ≥ 96% of healthy adults. To investigate vaccine immunogenicity in HIV-1-infection, we measured SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific antibodies in Ad26.COV2.S vaccinated HIV-1-infected patients and analyzed the presence of pre-existing Ad26 neutralizing antibodies. Methods: We included all Ad26.COV2.S vaccinated HIV-1-infected patients of Erlangen HIV cohort fulfilling all inclusion criteria. The study cohort consisted of 15 HIV-1-infected patients and three HIV-1-uninfected subjects who received the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine between April and November 2021. Pre-vaccination sera were collected between October 2014 and June 2021, post-vaccination sera between June and December 2021. Neutralizing antibodies towards Ad26 were determined by a FACS-based inhibition assay measuring the expression of SARS-CoV-2 spike and adenoviral proteins in HEK293T cells after in-vitro transduction with Ad26.COV2.S or the control ChAdOx1-S. Results: Six out of 15 HIV-1-infected patients failed to develop SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and four patients developed weak antibody responses after vaccination with Ad26.COV2.S. Pre-vaccination sera of four of the six vaccine non-responders showed neutralizing activity towards Ad26.COV2.S but not toward the ChAdOx1-S vaccine at 1:50 dilution. After Ad26.COV2.S vaccination, 17 of the 18 subjects developed strong Ad26-neutralizing activity and only one of the 18 subjects showed neutralizing activity towards the ChAdOx1-S vaccine. Conclusion: Ad26.COV2.S vaccination showed a high failure rate in HIV-1-infected patients. Pre-existing immunity against Ad26 could be an important contributor to poor vaccine efficacy in a subgroup of patients.

Authors with CRIS profile

Ellen Harrer Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology David Simon Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Arnd Kleyer Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology Philipp Steininger Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology Klaus Korn Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology Georg Schett Lehrstuhl für Innere Medizin III Carina Knobloch Department of Palliative Medicine Thomas Harrer Professur für Innere Medizin mit dem Schwerpunkt Immundefizienz

How to cite

APA:

Schmidt, K., Harrer, E., Schönau, V., Simon, D., Kleyer, A., Steininger, P.,... Harrer, T. (2023). Detection of pre-existing neutralizing antibodies against Ad26 in HIV-1-infected individuals not responding to the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine. Infection. https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-023-02035-6

MLA:

Schmidt, Katja, et al. "Detection of pre-existing neutralizing antibodies against Ad26 in HIV-1-infected individuals not responding to the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine." Infection (2023).

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