The impact of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine on adaptive and innate immune responses

Konstantin Föhse, Büsra Geckin, Martijn Zoodsma, Gizem Kilic, Zhaoli Liu, Rutger J. Röring, Gijs J. Overheul, Josephine van de Maat, Ozlem Bulut, Jacobien J. Hoogerwerf, Jaap ten Oever, Elles Simonetti, Heiner Schaal, Ortwin Adams, Lisa Müller, Philipp Niklas Ostermann, Frank L. van de Veerdonk, Leo A.B. Joosten, Bart L. Haagmans, Reinout van CrevelRonald P. van Rij, Corine GeurtsvanKessel, Marien I. de Jonge, Yang Li, Jorge Domínguez-Andrés, Mihai G. Netea*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

The mRNA-based BNT162b2 protects against severe disease and mortality caused by SARS-CoV-2 via induction of specific antibody and T-cell responses. Much less is known about its broad effects on immune responses against other pathogens. Here, we investigated the adaptive immune responses induced by BNT162b2 vaccination against various SARS-CoV-2 variants and its effects on the responsiveness of immune cells upon stimulation with heterologous stimuli. BNT162b2 vaccination induced effective humoral and cellular immunity against SARS-CoV-2 that started to wane after six months. We also observed long-term transcriptional changes in immune cells after vaccination. Additionally, vaccination with BNT162b2 modulated innate immune responses as measured by inflammatory cytokine production after stimulation - higher IL-1/IL-6 release and decreased IFN-α production. Altogether, these data expand our knowledge regarding the overall immunological effects of this new class of vaccines and underline the need for additional studies to elucidate their effects on both innate and adaptive immune responses.

Original languageEnglish
Article number109762
JournalClinical Immunology
Volume255
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
L.A.B.J. is supported by a Competitiveness Operational Program Grant of the Romanian Ministry of European Funds (HINT, ID P_37_762 ; MySMIS 103587 ). J.D-A. is supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (VENI grant 09150161910024 and Off-Road grant 04510012010022 ). M.G.N. is supported by an ERC Advanced Grant (#833247 ) and a Spinoza Grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research . Y.L. is supported by an ERC Starting Grant ( 948207 ) and a Hypatia Grant of Radboud University Medical Centre .

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors

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