The emergence of hitherto unknown viral pathogens presents a great challenge for researchers to develop effective therapeutics and vaccines within a short time to avoid an uncontrolled global spread, as seen during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, rapid and simple methods to identify immunogenic antigens as potential therapeutical targets are urgently needed for a better pandemic preparedness. To address this problem, we chose the well-characterized Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA)-T7pol expression system to establish a workflow to identify immunogens when a new pathogen emerges, generate candidate vaccines, and test their immunogenicity in an animal model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Pre-existent pools of coronavirus-specific or cross-reactive T cells were shown to shape the development of cellular and humoral immune responses after primary mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. However, the cellular determinants of responses to booster vaccination remain incompletely understood. Therefore, we phenotypically and functionally characterized spike antigen-specific T helper (Th) cells in healthy, immunocompetent individuals and correlated the results with cellular and humoral immune responses to BNT162b2 booster vaccination over a six-month period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an infection caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) that can lead to symptoms of central nervous system inflammation. There are five subtypes of TBEV, three of which - European, Siberian and Far Eastern - occur in Europe. As it is thought that different subtype infections exhibit varying clinical courses and outcomes, serological differentiation of the virus subtypes is clearly important.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe SARS-CoV-2 virus has infected more than 660 million people and caused nearly seven million deaths worldwide. During the pandemic, a number of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were rapidly developed, and several are currently licensed for use in Europe. However, the optimization of vaccination regimens is still ongoing, particularly with regard to booster vaccinations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an infectious disease of the central nervous system. The causative agent is the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which is most commonly transmitted by tick bites, but which may also be transmitted through the consumption of raw dairy products or, in rare instances, via infected transfusions, transplants, or the slaughter of infected animals. The only effective preventive option is active immunization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackgroundThe exact epidemiology of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infections is unknown because many TBEV infections have an influenza-like or asymptomatic course. Surveillance data are based on patients with any (predominantly neurological) symptoms that prompted diagnostic testing. Infection- and vaccine-induced antibodies against TBEV can be distinguished using an NS1 IgG ELISA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with B-cell pathway inhibitors and anti-CD20 antibodies exhibit low humoral response rates following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. To investigate this observation, a prospective single-institution study was conducted comparing peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptional response with antibody and T-cell response rates following heterologous BNT162b2/ChAdOx1 vaccination of 15 patients with CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). Two-dose antibody response rate was 40%, increasing to 53% after booster.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with B-cell pathway inhibitors and anti-CD20 antibodies exhibit low humoral response rate (RR) following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. To investigate the relationship between the initial transcriptional response to vaccination with ensuing B and T cell immune responses, we performed a comprehensive immune transcriptome analysis flanked by antibody and T cell assays in peripheral blood prospectively collected from 15 CLL/SLL patients vaccinated with heterologous BNT162b2/ChAdOx1 with follow up at a single institution. The two-dose antibody RR was 40% increasing to 53% after booster.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibodies against the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can drive adaptive evolution in immunocompromised patients with chronic infection. Here we longitudinally analyze SARS-CoV-2 sequences in a B cell-depleted, lymphoma patient with chronic, ultimately fatal infection, and identify three mutations in the spike protein that dampen convalescent plasma-mediated neutralization of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, four mutations emerge in non-spike regions encoding three CD8 T cell epitopes, including one nucleoprotein epitope affected by two mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe magnitude of the 2022 multi-country monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak has surpassed any preceding outbreak. It is unclear whether asymptomatic or otherwise undiagnosed infections are fuelling this epidemic. In this study, we aimed to assess whether undiagnosed infections occurred among men attending a Belgian sexual health clinic in May 2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV), and the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) are all arboviruses belonging to family. All are characterized by vectorial transmission and sometimes associated with neuroinvasive infections. The circulation of these viruses is considered endemic in parts of Europe, with human cases reported in many countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn December 2020, WHO presented the first international standard (WHO IS) for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin. This standard is intended to serve as a reference reagent against which serological tests can be calibrated, thus creating better comparability of results between different tests, laboratories, etc. Here, we have examined three different commercial ELISA kits for the quantification of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies, namely the Anti-SARS-CoV-2 QuantiVac ELISA (IgG) (Euroimmun, Lübeck, Germany), the SERION ELISA agile (Institut Virion Serion, Würzburg, Germany), and the COVID-19 quantitative IgG ELISA (DeMediTec Diagnostics, Kiel, Germany).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRisk factors for disease progression and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections require an understanding of acute and long-term virological and immunological dynamics. Fifty-one RT-PCR positive COVID-19 outpatients were recruited between May and December 2020 in Munich, Germany, and followed up at multiple defined timepoints for up to one year. RT-PCR and viral culture were performed and seroresponses measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 progresses rapidly around the world, reliable detection of SARS-CoV-2 specific neutralizing antibodies (NAb) has become an indispensable component of serological diagnostics. We evaluated the performance of four commercially available tests, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Europe, plays a major role as a vector of sensu lato (s.l.) spirochaetes, the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, among other pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA number of seroassays are available for SARS-CoV-2 testing; yet, head-to-head evaluations of different testing principles are limited, especially using raw values rather than categorical data. In addition, identifying correlates of protection is of utmost importance, and comparisons of available testing systems with functional assays, such as direct viral neutralisation, are needed.We analysed 6658 samples consisting of true-positives (=193), true-negatives (=1091), and specimens of unknown status (=5374).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSARS-CoV-2 infections elicit a humoral immune response capable of neutralising the virus. However, multiple variants have emerged with mutations in the spike protein amongst others, the key target of neutralising antibodies. We evaluated the neutralising efficacy of 89 serum samples from patients, infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the beginning of 2020, against two virus variants isolated from acutely infected patients and harbouring spike protein mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter COVID-19, some patients develop long-term symptoms. Whether such symptoms correlate with immune responses, and how long immunity persists, is not yet clear. This study focused on mild COVID-19 and investigated correlations of immunity with persistent symptoms and immune longevity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA breakthrough infection occurred in a fully Comirnaty (BNT162b2) vaccinated healthcare worker with high levels of neutralising antibodies with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351 (Beta) variant in February 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpike-specific antibodies contribute significantly to the neutralising activity against SARS-CoV-2 and are important for the therapeutic effect of convalescent plasma. B.1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe clinical and immunological impact of B-cell depletion in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is unclear. We conducted a prospectively planned analysis of COVID-19 in patients who received B-cell depleting anti-CD20 antibodies and chemotherapy for B-cell lymphomas. The control cohort consisted of age- and sex-matched patients without lymphoma who were hospitalized because of COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Quantitative serological assays detecting response to SARS-CoV-2 are needed to quantify immunity. This study analyzed the performance and correlation of two quantitative anti-S1 assays in oligo-/asymptomatic individuals from a population-based cohort.
Methods: In total, 362 plasma samples (108 with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]-positive pharyngeal swabs, 111 negative controls, and 143 with positive serology without confirmation by RT-PCR) were tested with quantitative assays (Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 QuantiVac enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [EI-S1-IgG-quant]) and Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S [Ro-RBD-Ig-quant]), which were compared with each other and confirmatory tests, including wild-type virus micro-neutralization (NT) and GenScriptcPass™.
Background: Quantitative serological assays detecting response to SARS-CoV-2 are needed to quantify immunity. This study analyzed the performance and correlation of two quantitative anti-S1 assays in oligo-/asymptomatic individuals from a population-based cohort.
Methods: In total, 362 plasma samples (108 with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]-positive pharyngeal swabs, 111 negative controls, and 143 with positive serology without confirmation by RT-PCR) were tested with quantitative assays (Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 QuantiVac enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [EI-S1-IgG-quant]) and Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S [Ro-RBD-Ig-quant]), which were compared with each other and confirmatory tests, including wild-type virus micro-neutralization (NT) and GenScriptcPass™.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with a potentially severe clinical manifestation, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and currently poses a worldwide challenge. Health care workers (HCWs) are at the forefront of any health care system and thus especially at risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection due to their potentially frequent and close contact with patients suffering from COVID-19. Serum samples from 198 HCWs with direct patient contact of a regional medical center and several outpatient facilities were collected during the early phase of the pandemic (April 2020) and tested for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies.
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