ABSTRACT
The adenovirus (Ad)26 serotype-based vector vaccine Ad26.COV2.S has been used in millions of subjects for the prevention of COVID-19, but potentially elicits persistent anti-vector immunity. We investigated if vaccine-elicited immunity to Ad26 vector-based vaccines significantly influences antigen-specific immune responses induced by a subsequent vaccination with Ad26 vector-based vaccine regimens against different disease targets in non-human primates. A homologous Ad26 vector-based vaccination regimen or heterologous regimens (Ad26/Ad35 or Ad26/Modified Vaccinia Ankara [MVA]) induced target pathogen-specific immunity in animals, but also persistent neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses against the vectors. However, subsequent vaccination (interval, 26-57 weeks) with homologous and heterologous Ad26 vector-based vaccine regimens encoding different target pathogen immunogens did not reveal consistent differences in humoral or cellular immune responses against the target pathogen, as compared to responses in naïve animals. These results support the sequential use of Ad26 vector-based vaccine regimens targeting different diseases.
ABSTRACT
Several COVID-19 vaccines have recently gained authorization for emergency use. Limited knowledge on duration of immunity and efficacy of these vaccines is currently available. Data on other coronaviruses after natural infection suggest that immunity to SARS-CoV-2 might be short-lived, and preliminary evidence indicates waning antibody titers following SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this work, we model the relationship between immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a series of Ad26 vectors encoding stabilized variants of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein in rhesus macaques and validate the analyses by challenging macaques 6 months after immunization with the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine candidate that has been selected for clinical development. We show that Ad26.COV2.S confers durable protection against replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs that is predicted by the levels of Spike-binding and neutralizing antibodies, indicating that Ad26.COV2.S could confer durable protection in humans and immunological correlates of protection may enable the prediction of durability of protection.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Neutralizing/immunology , Antibodies, Viral/immunology , COVID-19 Vaccines/immunology , COVID-19/immunology , COVID-19/virology , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology , Vaccination , Ad26COVS1 , Animals , Female , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Immunity, Humoral , Logistic Models , Lung/immunology , Lung/pathology , Lung/virology , Macaca mulatta , Male , Nose/immunology , Nose/virology , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , Virus Replication/physiologyABSTRACT
Previously we have shown that a single dose of recombinant adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad26) vaccine expressing a prefusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen (Ad26.COV2.S) is immunogenic and provides protection in Syrian hamster and non-human primate SARS-CoV-2 infection models. Here, we investigated the immunogenicity, protective efficacy, and potential for vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease (VAERD) mediated by Ad26.COV2.S in a moderate disease Syrian hamster challenge model, using the currently most prevalent G614 spike SARS-CoV-2 variant. Vaccine doses of 1 × 109 and 1 × 1010 VP elicited substantial neutralizing antibodies titers and completely protected over 80% of SARS-CoV-2 inoculated Syrian hamsters from lung infection and pneumonia but not upper respiratory tract infection. A second vaccine dose further increased neutralizing antibody titers that was associated with decreased infectious viral load in the upper respiratory tract after SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Suboptimal non-protective immune responses elicited by low-dose A26.COV2.S vaccination did not exacerbate respiratory disease in SARS-CoV-2-inoculated Syrian hamsters with breakthrough infection. In addition, dosing down the vaccine allowed to establish that binding and neutralizing antibody titers correlate with lower respiratory tract protection probability. Overall, these preclinical data confirm efficacy of a one-dose vaccine regimen with Ad26.COV2.S in this G614 spike SARS-CoV-2 virus variant Syrian hamster model, show the added benefit of a second vaccine dose, and demonstrate that there are no signs of VAERD under conditions of suboptimal immunity.