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SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination elicits a robust and persistent T follicular helper cell response in humans

Philip A. Mudd, Anastasia A. Minervina, Mikhail V. Pogorelyy, Jackson S. Turner, Wooseob Kim, Elizaveta Kalaidina, Jan Petersen, Aaron J. Schmitz, Tingting Lei, Ali H. Ellebedy, et al.

Cell (2022)

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Abstract

mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 generates strong antibody and CD4⁺ T cell immunity, but the contribution of vaccine-induced T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in humans has been less clear. Using fine-needle aspiration of draining axillary lymph nodes after BNT162b2 vaccination, the authors profiled Tfh cell phenotypes and T cell receptor repertoires. They identified a dominant, HLA-DPB1*04-restricted response to a spike peptide (S167–180) in individuals carrying this common allele and showed that spike-specific Tfh cells in lymph nodes remained detectable for at least six months. Together, these findings highlight a durable germinal center Tfh response as a key mechanism supporting the strong and long-lived immunity elicited by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines.

BibTeX 
@article{Mudd2022,
  author  = {Mudd, Philip A. and Minervina, Anastasia A. and Pogorelyy, Mikhail V. and Turner, Jackson S. and Kim, Wooseob and Kalaidina, Elizaveta and Petersen, Jan and Schmitz, Aaron J. and Lei, Tingting and Ellebedy, Ali H. and others},
  title   = {SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination elicits a robust and persistent T follicular helper cell response in humans},
  journal = {Cell},
  year    = {2022},
  volume  = {185},
  number  = {4},
  pages   = {603--613.e15},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.026}
}