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. 2022 Dec;36(12):e14825.
doi: 10.1111/ctr.14825. Epub 2022 Nov 23.

Torquetenovirus viral load is associated with anti-spike antibody response in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA BNT162b2 vaccinated kidney transplant patients

Sara Querido  1 , Teresa Adragão  1 , Iola Pinto  2   3 , Carolina Ormonde  4 , Ana Luísa Papoila  5   6 , Maria Ana Pessanha  7 , Perpétua Gomes  7   8 , Sílvia Ferreira  9 , João Mário Figueira  9 , Conceição Cardoso  9 , João Faro Viana  10 , André Weigert  1
Affiliations

Torquetenovirus viral load is associated with anti-spike antibody response in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA BNT162b2 vaccinated kidney transplant patients

Sara Querido et al. Clin Transplant. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Kidney transplant patients (KT) are at high risk for severe COVID-19 and presented attenuated antibody responses to vaccination when compared to immunocompetent individuals. Torquetenovirus (TTV) has recently gained attention as a potential surrogate marker of the net state of immunosuppression. We evaluated the association between pre-vaccination TTV viral load and anti-spike total antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in KT.

Material and methods: The 114 adult KT recipients enrolled in this prospective single-center cohort study received two doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine. Serum samples were collected immediately before vaccination at the days when patients received both the first (T0) and the second dose (T1) and 16-45 days after the second dose (T2). Primary endpoint was the development of anti-spike total antibodies after vaccination. Demographic, clinical, and laboratorial parameters were compared between patients with and without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at T2.

Results: Ninety-nine patients (86.8%) were naïve for SARS-CoV-2 before vaccination. Fifty-six (56.6%) patients developed anti-spike total antibodies at T2. The use of mTOR inhibitors was associated with a favorable response (p = .005); conversely, mycophenolic acid (MPA) was associated with a negative response (p = .006). In a multivariable model, the presence of TTV at T0 ≥ 3.36 log10 cp/ml was associated with unfavorable vaccine response (OR: 5.40; 95% CI: 1.47-19.80; p = .011), after adjusting for age and eGFR at T0.

Conclusions: Higher TTV viral loads before vaccination are associated with reduced anti-spike total antibody response in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA BNT162b2 vaccinated KT patients. The association between TTV viral load and vaccine response may be an added-value in the optimization of vaccination regimens in KT.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; kidney transplantation; torquetenovirus; vaccine.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Study design flow chart
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Evolution of TTV load at study time points
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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