Dissecting humoral immune responses to an MVA-vectored MERS-CoV vaccine in humans using a systems serology approach

  • iScience. 2024 Jul 8;27(8):110470. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110470.
Leonie M Weskamm  1  2  3 ,  Paulina Tarnow  1  2  3 ,  Charlotte Harms  4  5 ,  Melanie Huchon  6  7 ,  Matthijs P Raadsen  8 ,  Monika Friedrich  1  2  3 ,  Laura Rübenacker  1  2  3 ,  Cordula Grüttner  1  2  3 ,  Mariana G Garcia  4  5 ,  MVA-MERS-S-CEF study group ,  Till Koch  1  3  9 ,  Stephan Becker  10  11 ,  Gerd Sutter  12  13 ,  Edouard Lhomme  6  7  14 ,  Bart L Haagmans  8 ,  Anahita Fathi  1  2  3  15 ,  Sandra M Blois  4  5 ,  Christine Dahlke  1  2  3 ,  Laura Richert  6  7  14 ,  Marylyn M Addo  1  2  3
Affiliations
  • 1. Institute for Infection Research and Vaccine Development (IIRVD), Center for Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
  • 2. Department for Clinical Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
  • 3. German Center for Infection Research, Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Hamburg, Germany.
  • 4. Department of Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
  • 5. Glyco-HAM, a Cooperation of Universität Hamburg, Technology Platform Mass Spectrometry and University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
  • 6. University of Bordeaux, INSERM, INRIA, BPH, U1219, Sistm, Bordeaux, France.
  • 7. Vaccine Research Institute, Creteil, France.
  • 8. Department of Viroscience, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
  • 9. Antibiotic Stewardship Team, Pharmacy of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
  • 10. Institute of Virology, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
  • 11. German Center for Infection Research, Partner Site Gießen-Marburg-Langen, Marburg, Germany.
  • 12. Division of Virology, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany.
  • 13. German Center for Infection Research, Partner Site München, Munich, Germany.
  • 14. CHU de Bordeaux, Service d'Information Médicale, Bordeaux, France.
  • 15. Division of Infectious Diseases, 1st Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract

Besides neutralizing antibodies, which are considered an important measure for vaccine immunogenicity, Fc-mediated antibody functions can contribute to antibody-mediated protection. They are strongly influenced by structural antibody properties such as subclass and Fc glycan composition. We here applied a systems serology approach to dissect humoral immune responses induced by MVA-MERS-S, an MVA-vectored vaccine against the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Building on preceding studies reporting the safety and immunogenicity of MVA-MERS-S, our study highlights the potential of a late boost, administered one year after prime, to enhance both neutralizing and Fc-mediated antibody functionality compared to the primary vaccination series. Distinct characteristics were observed for antibodies specific to the MERS-CoV spike protein S1 and S2 subunits, regarding subclass and glycan compositions as well as Fc functionality. These findings highlight the benefit of a late homologous booster vaccination with MVA-MERS-S and may be of interest for the design of future coronavirus vaccines.

Keywords
Cell biology; Immune response; Immunology; Virology.
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