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Observational Study
. 2024 Jan 17;24(1):96.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-09001-z.

Impaired humoral immunity following COVID-19 vaccination in HTLV-1 carriers

Takuro Kameda #  1 , Atae Utsunomiya #  2 , Nobuaki Otsuka #  3 , Yoko Kubuki  1 , Taisuke Uchida  1 , Kotaro Shide  1 , Ayako Kamiunten  1 , Nobuaki Nakano  2 , Masahito Tokunaga  2 , Takayoshi Miyazono  2 , Yoshikiyo Ito  2 , Kentaro Yonekura  4 , Toshiro Kawakita  5 , Keiichi Akizuki  1 , Yuki Tahira  1 , Masayoshi Karasawa  1 , Tomonori Hidaka  1 , Ayaka Konagata  1 , Norifumi Taniguchi  1 , Yuma Nagatomo  1 , Fumiko Kogo  1 , Koichiro Shimizu  1 , Hiroaki Ueno  1 , Junzo Ishizaki  6 , Naoya Takahashi  3 , Yoshihiko Ikei  3 , Michihiro Hidaka  5 , Hideki Yamaguchi  1 , Kazuya Shimoda  7
Affiliations
Observational Study

Impaired humoral immunity following COVID-19 vaccination in HTLV-1 carriers

Takuro Kameda et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Whether human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) carriers can develop sufficient humoral immunity after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination is unknown.

Methods: To investigate humoral immunity after COVID-19 vaccination in HTLV-1 carriers, a multicenter, prospective observational cohort study was conducted at five institutions in southwestern Japan, an endemic area for HTLV-1. HTLV-1 carriers and HTLV-1-negative controls were enrolled for this study from January to December 2022. During this period, the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was actively administered. HTLV-1 carriers were enrolled during outpatient visits, while HTLV-1-negative controls included health care workers and patients treated by participating institutions for diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia. The main outcome was the effect of HTLV-1 infection on the plasma anti-COVID-19 spike IgG (IgG-S) titers after the third dose, assessed by multivariate linear regression with other clinical factors.

Results: We analyzed 181 cases (90 HTLV-1 carriers, 91 HTLV-1-negative controls) after receiving the third dose. HTLV-1 carriers were older (median age 67.0 vs. 45.0 years, p < 0.001) and more frequently had diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia than did HTLV-1-negative controls (60.0% vs. 27.5%, p < 0.001). After the third dose, the IgG-S titers decreased over time in both carriers and controls. Multivariate linear regression in the entire cohort showed that time since the third dose, age, and HTLV-1 infection negatively influenced IgG-S titers. After adjusting for confounders such as age, or presence of diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia between carriers and controls using the overlap weighting propensity score method, and performing weighted regression analysis in the entire cohort, both time since the third dose and HTLV-1 infection negatively influenced IgG-S titers.

Conclusions: The humoral immunity after the third vaccination dose is impaired in HTLV-1 carriers; thus, customized vaccination schedules may be necessary for them.

Keywords: COVID-19; HTLV-1; Humoral immunity; SARS-COV-2 spike protein; Vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

K. Shimoda received consulting fees from Novartis Pharma, Takeda Pharmaceutical, and Bristol-Myers, all outside the submitted work, and received research grants from Perseus Proteomics, Pharma Essentia Japan KK, AbbVie GK, Astellas Pharma, MSD, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Kyowa Kirin, Pfizer, Novartis Pharma, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, and Asahi Kasei Medical, all outside the submitted work. A. Utsunomiya has received honoraria from Kyowa Kirin, Daiichi Sankyo, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Meiji Seika Pharma and consulting fees from JIMRO and Otsuka Medical Devices, all outside the submitted work. M. Hidaka received honoraria from Chugai Pharm. And Huya, Japan. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Dynamics of anti-COVID-19 spike protein IgG (IgG-S) antibody titers after the third vaccine dose. IgG-S antibody titers in HTLV-1 carriers and HTLV-1-negative controls along the time from the third vaccine dose. The x-axis represents the sampling time point based on the date of the third dose (months). The y-axis represents IgG-S antibody titers (BAU/mL) on a log10 scale. Univariate regression lines for IgG-S titers by the time from the third dose to sample collection are shown with 95% CIs. The dashed lines indicate the cutoff values that distinguish low, medium, and high titers of anti-SARS-CoV-2-S1-receptor binding domain IgG as defined by the WHO. HTLV-1, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1; BAU, binding antibody units; IgG-S, anti-COVID-19 spike protein IgG; CI, confidence interval; WHO, World Health Organization
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Dynamics of anti-COVID-19 spike protein IgG (IgG-S) antibody titers after the third vaccine dose for adjusted samples. IgG-S antibody titers in HTLV-1 carriers and HTLV-1-negative controls along the time from the third vaccine dose for adjusted samples. The x-axis represents the sampling time point based on the date of the third dose (months). The y-axis represents IgG-S antibody titers (BAU/mL) on a log10 scale. The size of each dot represents the weight of each sample, calculated by propensity score method using overlap weights. Weighted univariate regression lines for IgG-S titers by the time from the third dose to sample collection are shown with 95% CIs. The dashed lines indicate the cutoff values that distinguish low, medium, and high titers of anti-SARS-CoV-2-S1-receptor binding domain IgG as defined by the WHO. HTLV-1, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1; BAU, binding antibody units; IgG-S, anti-COVID-19 spike protein IgG; CI, confidence interval; WHO, World Health Organization
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