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Boretti A. mRNA vaccine boosters and impaired immune system response in immune compromised individuals: a narrative review. Clin Exp Med 2024; 24:23. [PMID: 38280109 PMCID: PMC10821957 DOI: 10.1007/s10238-023-01264-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Over the last 24 months, there has been growing evidence of a correlation between mRNA COVID-19 vaccine boosters and increased prevalence of COVID-19 infection and other pathologies. Recent works have added possible causation to correlation. mRNA vaccine boosters may impair immune system response in immune compromised individuals. Multiple doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines may result in much higher levels of IgG 4 antibodies, or also impaired activation of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. The opportunity for mRNA vaccine boosters to impair the immune system response needs careful consideration, as this impacts the cost-to-benefit ratio of the boosters' practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Boretti
- Melbourne Institute of Technology, The Argus, 288 La Trobe St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
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Cosenza LC, Marzaro G, Zurlo M, Gasparello J, Zuccato C, Finotti A, Gambari R. Inhibitory effects of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and BNT162b2 vaccine on erythropoietin-induced globin gene expression in erythroid precursor cells from patients with β-thalassemia. Exp Hematol 2024; 129:104128. [PMID: 37939833 DOI: 10.1016/j.exphem.2023.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
During the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic several patients with β-thalassemia have been infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and most patients were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. Recent studies demonstrate an impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the hematopoietic system. The main objective of this study was to verify the effects of exposure of erythroid precursor cells (ErPCs) from patients with β-thalassemia to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S-protein) and the BNT162b2 vaccine. Erythropoietin (EPO)-cultured ErPCs have been either untreated or treated with S-protein or BNT162b2 vaccine. The employed ErPCs were from a β-thalassemia cellular Biobank developed before the COVID-19 pandemic. The genotypes were β+-IVSI-110/β+-IVSI-110 (one patient), β039/β+-IVSI-110 (3 patients), and β039/ β039 (2 patients). After treatment with S-protein or BNT162b2 for 5 days, lysates were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), for hemoglobin production, and isolated RNA was assayed by RT-qPCR, for detection of globin gene expression. The main conclusions of the results obtained are that SARS-CoV-2 S-protein and BNT162b2 vaccine (a) inhibit fetal hemoglobin (HbF) production by β-thalassemic ErPCs and (b) inhibit γ-globin mRNA accumulation. In addition, we have performed in silico studies suggesting a high affinity of S-protein to HbF. Remarkably, the binding interaction energy of fetal hemoglobin to S-protein was comparable with that of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a relevant impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination on the hematopoietic system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Carmela Cosenza
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giovanni Marzaro
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Matteo Zurlo
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Jessica Gasparello
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Cristina Zuccato
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; Center "Chiara Gemmo and Elio Zago" for the Research on Thalassemia, Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Alessia Finotti
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; Center "Chiara Gemmo and Elio Zago" for the Research on Thalassemia, Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Roberto Gambari
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; Center "Chiara Gemmo and Elio Zago" for the Research on Thalassemia, Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
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Bains A, Fischer K, Guan W, LiWang PJ. The Antiviral Activity of the Lectin Griffithsin against SARS-CoV-2 Is Enhanced by the Presence of Structural Proteins. Viruses 2023; 15:2452. [PMID: 38140693 PMCID: PMC10747160 DOI: 10.3390/v15122452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Although COVID-19 transmission has been reduced by the advent of vaccinations and a variety of rapid monitoring techniques, the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself has shown a remarkable ability to mutate and persist. With this long track record of immune escape, researchers are still exploring prophylactic treatments to curtail future SARS-CoV-2 variants. Specifically, much focus has been placed on the antiviral lectin Griffithsin in preventing spike protein-mediated infection via the hACE2 receptor (direct infection). However, an oft-overlooked aspect of SARS-CoV-2 infection is viral capture by attachment receptors such as DC-SIGN, which is thought to facilitate the initial stages of COVID-19 infection in the lung tissue (called trans-infection). In addition, while immune escape is dictated by mutations in the spike protein, coronaviral virions also incorporate M, N, and E structural proteins within the particle. In this paper, we explored how several structural facets of both the SARS-CoV-2 virion and the antiviral lectin Griffithsin can affect and attenuate the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus. We found that Griffithsin was a better inhibitor of hACE2-mediated direct infection when the coronaviral M protein is present compared to when it is absent (possibly providing an explanation regarding why Griffithsin shows better inhibition against authentic SARS-CoV-2 as opposed to pseudotyped viruses, which generally do not contain M) and that Griffithsin was not an effective inhibitor of DC-SIGN-mediated trans-infection. Furthermore, we found that DC-SIGN appeared to mediate trans-infection exclusively via binding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, with no significant effect observed when other viral proteins (M, N, and/or E) were present. These results provide etiological data that may help to direct the development of novel antiviral treatments, either by leveraging Griffithsin binding to the M protein as a novel strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection or by narrowing efforts to inhibit trans-infection to focus on DC-SIGN binding to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arjan Bains
- Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, CA 95343, USA;
| | - Kathryn Fischer
- Quantitative and Systems Biology, University of California Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, CA 95343, USA;
| | - Wenyan Guan
- Materials and Biomaterials Science and Engineering, University of California Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, CA 95343, USA;
| | - Patricia J. LiWang
- Molecular Cell Biology, Health Sciences Research Institute, University of California Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, CA 95343, USA
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Zurlo M, Gasparello J, Verona M, Papi C, Cosenza LC, Finotti A, Marzaro G, Gambari R. The anti-SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine suppresses mithramycin-induced erythroid differentiation and expression of embryo-fetal globin genes in human erythroleukemia K562 cells. Exp Cell Res 2023; 433:113853. [PMID: 37944576 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2023.113853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is causative of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein (S-protein) plays an important role in the early phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection through efficient interaction with ACE2. The S-protein is produced by RNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, that were fundamental for the reduction of the viral spread within the population and the clinical severity of COVID-19. However, the S-protein has been hypothesized to be responsible for damaging cells of several tissues and for some important side effects of RNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. Considering the impact of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 infection on the hematopoietic system, the aim of this study was to verify the effect of the BNT162b2 vaccine on erythroid differentiation of the human K562 cell line, that has been in the past intensively studied as a model system mimicking some steps of erythropoiesis. In this context, we focused on hemoglobin production and induced expression of embryo-fetal globin genes, that are among the most important features of K562 erythroid differentiation. We found that the BNT162b2 vaccine suppresses mithramycin-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells. Reverse-transcription-qPCR and Western blotting assays demonstrated that suppression of erythroid differentiation was associated with sharp inhibition of the expression of α-globin and γ-globin mRNA accumulation. Inhibition of accumulation of ζ-globin and ε-globin mRNAs was also observed. In addition, we provide in silico studies suggesting a direct interaction between SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein and Hb Portland, that is the major hemoglobin produced by K562 cells. This study thus provides information suggesting the need of great attention on possible alteration of hematopoietic parameters following SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or COVID-19 vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Zurlo
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Jessica Gasparello
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Verona
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Chiara Papi
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Lucia Carmela Cosenza
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Alessia Finotti
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Center 'Chiara Gemmo and Elio Zago' for the Research on Thalassemia, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giovanni Marzaro
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Roberto Gambari
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Section of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Center 'Chiara Gemmo and Elio Zago' for the Research on Thalassemia, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
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Mariottini A, Lotti A, Innocenti C, Repice AM, Nozzoli C, Boncompagni R, Fainardi E, Saccardi R, Massacesi L. Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on disease activity in multiple sclerosis patients treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Eur J Neurol 2023; 30:3362-3366. [PMID: 37483174 DOI: 10.1111/ene.15989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE It is still debated whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected disease activity in people with autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore the impact of COVID-19 in people with MS (pwMS) not receiving continuative disease-modifying therapy (DMT) after previous treatment with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS We included pwMS treated with AHSCT who were in disease remission without receiving DMTs during the pandemic and who were followed up at our centre during the study period. Data on SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination were recorded, with details of adverse events and clinical-radiological disease activity. RESULTS A total of 36 pwMS (31 females; 86%) were included, of whom 23 (64%) had relapsing-remitting (RR-MS) and 13 had secondary progressive MS (SP-MS). Thirty-three pwMS (92%) received anti-SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines. Thirteen patients (36%) developed mild to moderate COVID-19 a median (range) of 58 (4-224) months after AHSCT; seven (54%) of these patients were not yet vaccinated. Transient neurological symptoms after vaccination or infection were reported in 9% and 36% of the patients, respectively. The rate of new inflammatory events (relapses or asymptomatic magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] activity) after AHSCT increased from 0.006 (one asymptomatic new lesion/159 patient-years) before the pandemic to 0.083 (five relapses plus two cases of asymptomatic MRI activity/84 patient-years) since the pandemic start (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS People with MS with a history of highly active disease, who are untreated or receiving moderate-efficacy DMTs might be more vulnerable to disease reactivation, possibly elicited by exogenous triggers. Careful monitoring and further investigation are warranted to ascertain whether special precautions are needed in these cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mariottini
- Department of Neurosciences, Drug and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of Neurology 2 and Tuscan Region Multiple Sclerosis Referral Centre, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Antonio Lotti
- Department of Neurosciences, Drug and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Chiara Innocenti
- Cell Therapy and Transfusion Medicine Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Repice
- Department of Neurology 2 and Tuscan Region Multiple Sclerosis Referral Centre, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Chiara Nozzoli
- Cell Therapy and Transfusion Medicine Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Riccardo Boncompagni
- Cell Therapy and Transfusion Medicine Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Enrico Fainardi
- Neuroradiology Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Riccardo Saccardi
- Cell Therapy and Transfusion Medicine Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Luca Massacesi
- Department of Neurosciences, Drug and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Department of Neurology 2 and Tuscan Region Multiple Sclerosis Referral Centre, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
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Talotta R. Molecular Mimicry and HLA Polymorphisms May Drive Autoimmunity in Recipients of the BNT-162b2 mRNA Vaccine: A Computational Analysis. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1686. [PMID: 37512859 PMCID: PMC10384367 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11071686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND After the start of the worldwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign, there were increased reports of autoimmune diseases occurring de novo after vaccination. This in silico analysis aimed to investigate the presence of protein epitopes encoded by the BNT-162b2 mRNA vaccine, one of the most widely administered COVID-19 vaccines, which could induce autoimmunity in predisposed individuals. METHODS The FASTA sequence of the protein encoded by the BNT-162b2 vaccine served as the key input to the Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource. Linear peptides with 90% BLAST homology were selected, and T-cell, B-cell, and MHC-ligand assays without MHC restriction were searched and analyzed. HLA disease associations were screened on the HLA-SPREAD platform by selecting only positive markers. RESULTS By 7 May 2023, a total of 5693 epitopes corresponding to 21 viral but also human proteins were found. The latter included CHL1, ENTPD1, MEAF6, SLC35G2, and ZFHX2. Importantly, some autoepitopes may be presented by HLA alleles positively associated with various immunological diseases. CONCLUSIONS The protein product of the BNT-162b2 mRNA vaccine contains immunogenic epitopes that may trigger autoimmune phenomena in predisposed individuals through a molecular mimicry mechanism. Genotyping for HLA alleles may help identify individuals at risk. However, further wet-lab studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Talotta
- Rheumatology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Hospital "G. Martino", 98124 Messina, Italy
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