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. 2024 Sep 6;22(1):827.
doi: 10.1186/s12967-024-05637-2.

The gut microbiota modifies antibody durability and booster responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

Hye Seong  1   2   3 , Jin Gu Yoon  1   3 , Eliel Nham  1   3 , Yu Jung Choi  1   3 , Ji Yun Noh  1   2   3 , Hee Jin Cheong  1   2   3 , Woo Joo Kim  1   2   3 , Eui Ho Kim  4 , Chulwoo Kim  3   5 , Young-Hee Han  6 , Sooyeon Lim  7   8 , Joon Young Song  9   10   11
Affiliations

The gut microbiota modifies antibody durability and booster responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

Hye Seong et al. J Transl Med. .

Abstract

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines are pivotal in combating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, the declining antibody titers postvaccination pose challenges for sustained protection and herd immunity. Although gut microbiome is reported to affect the early antibody response after vaccination, its impact on the longevity of vaccine-induced antibodies remains unexplored.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted involving 44 healthy adults who received two doses of either the BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 vaccine, followed by a BNT162b2 booster at six months. The gut microbiome was serially analyzed using 16S rRNA and shotgun sequencing, while humoral immune response was assessed using a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein immunoassay.

Results: Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was associated with robust and persistent antibody responses post-BNT162b2 vaccination. In comparison, Escherichia coli was associated with a slower antibody decay following ChAdOx1 vaccination. The booster immune response was correlated with metabolic pathways involving cellular functions and aromatic amino acid synthesis.

Conclusions: The findings of this study underscored the potential interaction between the gut microbiome and the longevity/boosting effect of antibodies following vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The identification of specific microbial associations suggests the prospect of microbiome-based strategies for enhancing vaccine efficacy.

Keywords: Gut Microbiome; Half-life; Immunogenicity; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic study diagram
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Alpha and beta diversity comparison of the anti-S antibody titer between the slow- and fast-decay groups (BNT162b2 cohort). A Alpha diversity (ACE and Simpson). B Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) using the Jensen–Shannon algorithm, excluding unclassified operational taxonomic units (OTUs)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Shotgun sequencing-based compositional differences in gut microbiota between high and low responders after the BNT162b2 booster vaccination. A Species level. B Genus level
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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