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Kim SH, Kim Y, Jeon S, Park U, Kang JI, Jeon K, Kim HR, Oh S, Rhee JY, Choi JP, Park WB, Park SW, Yang JS, Lee JY, Kang J, Shin HS, Kim Y, Kim S, Kim YS, Lim DG, Cho NH. Rise in broadly cross-reactive adaptive immunity against human β-coronaviruses in MERS-recovered patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Adv 2024; 10:eadk6425. [PMID: 38416834 PMCID: PMC10901372 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk6425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
To develop a universal coronavirus (CoV) vaccine, long-term immunity against multiple CoVs, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, and future CoV strains, is crucial. Following the 2015 Korean MERS outbreak, we conducted a long-term follow-up study and found that although neutralizing antibodies and memory T cells against MERS-CoV declined over 5 years, some recovered patients exhibited increased antibody levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. This likely resulted from cross-reactive immunity induced by SARS-CoV-2 vaccines or infections. A significant correlation in antibody responses across various CoVs indicates shared immunogenic epitopes. Two epitopes-the spike protein's stem helix and intracellular domain-were highly immunogenic after MERS-CoV infection and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or infection. In addition, memory T cell responses, especially polyfunctional CD4+ T cells, were enhanced during the pandemic, correlating significantly with MERS-CoV spike-specific antibodies and neutralizing activity. Therefore, incorporating these cross-reactive and immunogenic epitopes into pan-CoV vaccine formulations may facilitate effective vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- So-Hee Kim
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Yuri Kim
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Endemic Disease, Seoul National University Medical Research, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Sangeun Jeon
- Zoonotic Virus Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Seongnam 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - Uni Park
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Ju-Il Kang
- Institute of Endemic Disease, Seoul National University Medical Research, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyeongseok Jeon
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye-Ran Kim
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Songhyeok Oh
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-Young Rhee
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan 31116, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Phil Choi
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Medical Center, Seoul 02053, Republic of Korea
| | - Wan Beom Park
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Won Park
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Sun Yang
- Center for Emerging Virus Research, Korea National Institute of Health, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju 28159, Republic of Korea
| | - Joo-Yeon Lee
- Center for Emerging Virus Research, Korea National Institute of Health, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju 28159, Republic of Korea
| | - Jihye Kang
- Translational Research Center, Research Institute of Public Health, National Medical Center, Seoul 04564, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyoung-Shik Shin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Daejeon Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon 34824, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeonjae Kim
- Center for Infectious Diseases, National Medical Center, Seoul 04564, Republic of Korea
| | - Seungtaek Kim
- Zoonotic Virus Laboratory, Institut Pasteur Korea, Seongnam 13488, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeon-Sook Kim
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon 35015, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong-Gyun Lim
- Translational Research Center, Research Institute of Public Health, National Medical Center, Seoul 04564, Republic of Korea
| | - Nam-Hyuk Cho
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Endemic Disease, Seoul National University Medical Research, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea
- Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do 13620, Republic of Korea
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Le Bert N, Samandari T. Silent battles: immune responses in asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cell Mol Immunol 2024; 21:159-170. [PMID: 38221577 PMCID: PMC10805869 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-024-01127-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 infections manifest with a broad spectrum of presentations, ranging from asymptomatic infections to severe pneumonia and fatal outcomes. This review centers on asymptomatic infections, a widely reported phenomenon that has substantially contributed to the rapid spread of the pandemic. In such asymptomatic infections, we focus on the role of innate, humoral, and cellular immunity. Notably, asymptomatic infections are characterized by an early and robust innate immune response, particularly a swift type 1 IFN reaction, alongside a rapid and broad induction of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells. Often, antibody levels tend to be lower or undetectable after asymptomatic infections, suggesting that the rapid control of viral replication by innate and cellular responses might impede the full triggering of humoral immunity. Even if antibody levels are present in the early convalescent phase, they wane rapidly below serological detection limits, particularly following asymptomatic infection. Consequently, prevalence studies reliant solely on serological assays likely underestimate the extent of community exposure to the virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Le Bert
- Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Taraz Samandari
- Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
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