Journal Article

Intestinal helminth infection impairs vaccine-induced T cell responses and protection against SARS-CoV-2

Santana, Ana Carolina, Thackray, Larissa B, Karl, Courtney E, Desai, Pritesh, Urban, Jr, Joseph F, Elbashir, Sayda M, Garcia-Salum, Tamara, Caten, Felipe Ten, Liang, Chieh-Yu, Ribeiro, Susan P, Edwards, Darin K, Diamond, Michael S, Ying, Baoling, Sekaly, Rafick P

2024

Overview

Although vaccines have reduced COVID-19 disease burden, their efficacy in helminth infection endemic areas is not well characterized. We evaluated the impact of infection by (Hpb), a murine intestinal hookworm, on the efficacy of an mRNA vaccine targeting the Wuhan-1 spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Although immunization generated similar B cell responses in Hpb-infected and uninfected mice, polyfunctional CD4 and CD8 T cell responses were markedly reduced in Hpb-infected mice. Hpb-infected and mRNA vaccinated mice were protected against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain WA1/2020, but control of lung infection was diminished against an Omicron variant compared to animals immunized without Hpb infection. Helminth mediated suppression of spike-specific CD8 T cell responses occurred independently of STAT6 signaling, whereas blockade of IL-10 rescued vaccine-induced CD8 T cell responses. In mice, intestinal helminth infection impairs vaccine induced T cell responses via an IL-10 pathway and compromises protection against antigenically shifted SARS-CoV-2 variants.

• Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
• Subject: Biotechnology / Bronchopulmonary infection / CD4 antigen / CD8 antigen / COVID-19 / Immunization / Immunology / Infections / Interleukin 10 / Intestine / Lymphocytes / Lymphocytes T / mRNA / Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 / Spike protein / Stat6 protein / Vaccines