Spheromers reveal robust T cell responses to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and attenuated peripheral CD8+ T cell responses post SARS-CoV-2 infection
- PMID: 36996809
- PMCID: PMC10017386
- DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.03.005
Spheromers reveal robust T cell responses to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and attenuated peripheral CD8+ T cell responses post SARS-CoV-2 infection
Abstract
T cells are a critical component of the response to SARS-CoV-2, but their kinetics after infection and vaccination are insufficiently understood. Using "spheromer" peptide-MHC multimer reagents, we analyzed healthy subjects receiving two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine. Vaccination resulted in robust spike-specific T cell responses for the dominant CD4+ (HLA-DRB1∗15:01/S191) and CD8+ (HLA-A∗02/S691) T cell epitopes. Antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were asynchronous, with the peak CD4+ T cell responses occurring 1 week post the second vaccination (boost), whereas CD8+ T cells peaked 2 weeks later. These peripheral T cell responses were elevated compared with COVID-19 patients. We also found that previous SARS-CoV-2 infection resulted in decreased CD8+ T cell activation and expansion, suggesting that previous infection can influence the T cell response to vaccination.
Keywords: COVID-19; Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern; antigen-specific T cell responses; peptide-MHC multimer; peripheral CD4(+) T cell responses; peripheral CD8(+) T cell responses; spheromer.
Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of interests V.M. and M.M.D. are inventors on a patent application (PCT/US2021/064378) on the spheromer technology described in this work.
Figures







Similar articles
-
Omicron BA.1-specific T-cell responses in adults vaccinated with CoronaVac or BNT162b2 in Hong Kong: an observational cohort study.Lancet Microbe. 2023 Jun;4(6):e418-e430. doi: 10.1016/S2666-5247(23)00006-X. Epub 2023 Apr 20. Lancet Microbe. 2023. PMID: 37086735 Free PMC article.
-
Tracking the immune response profiles elicited by the BNT162b2 vaccine in COVID-19 unexperienced and experienced individuals.Clin Immunol. 2024 Apr;261:110164. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2024.110164. Epub 2024 Feb 28. Clin Immunol. 2024. PMID: 38417765
-
SARS-CoV-2-Specific and Functional Cytotoxic CD8 Cells in Primary Antibody Deficiency: Natural Infection and Response to Vaccine.J Clin Immunol. 2022 Jul;42(5):914-922. doi: 10.1007/s10875-022-01256-y. Epub 2022 Apr 2. J Clin Immunol. 2022. PMID: 35366743 Free PMC article.
-
COVID-19 vaccines: comparison of biological, pharmacological characteristics and adverse effects of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Vaccines.Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021 Feb;25(3):1663-1669. doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202102_24877. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021. PMID: 33629336 Review.
-
Count on us: T cells in SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination.Cell Rep Med. 2022 Feb 25;3(3):100562. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100562. eCollection 2022 Mar 15. Cell Rep Med. 2022. PMID: 35474748 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Are repeat COVID infections dangerous? What the science says.Nature. 2023 Apr;616(7958):650-652. doi: 10.1038/d41586-023-01371-9. Nature. 2023. PMID: 37100944 No abstract available.
-
The presence of broadly neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD antibodies elicited by primary series and booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine.PLoS Pathog. 2024 Jun 10;20(6):e1012246. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012246. eCollection 2024 Jun. PLoS Pathog. 2024. PMID: 38857264 Free PMC article.
-
Delineation of DNA and mRNA COVID-19 vaccine-induced immune responses in preclinical animal models.Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2023 Dec 15;19(3):2281733. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2023.2281733. Epub 2023 Nov 27. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2023. PMID: 38012018 Free PMC article.
-
SARS-CoV-2 vaccination unmasks distinct immune dysfunctions across lymphoma subtypes and therapies.Res Sq [Preprint]. 2025 Jul 4:rs.3.rs-7016519. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7016519/v1. Res Sq. 2025. PMID: 40630518 Free PMC article. Preprint.
-
Demographic, clinical and laboratory differences between paediatric acute COVID-19 and PIMS-TS-results from a single centre study in the UK.Front Pediatr. 2023 Nov 10;11:1219654. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1219654. eCollection 2023. Front Pediatr. 2023. PMID: 38027272 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Goel R.R., Painter M.M., Apostolidis S.A., Mathew D., Meng W., Rosenfeld A.M., Lundgreen K.A., Reynaldi A., Khoury D.S., Pattekar A., et al. mRNA vaccines induce durable immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern. Science. 2021;374:abm0829. doi: 10.1126/science.abm0829. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
-
- Röltgen K., Nielsen S.C.A., Silva O., Younes S.F., Zaslavsky M., Costales C., Yang F., Wirz O.F., Solis D., Hoh R.A., et al. Immune imprinting, breadth of variant recognition, and germinal center response in human SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Cell. 2022;185 doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.01.018. 1025–1040.e14. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Molecular Biology Databases
Research Materials
Miscellaneous