Successful treatment of COVID-19 infection with convalescent plasma in B-cell-depleted patients may promote cellular immunity.
Eur J Immunol
; 51(10): 2478-2484, 2021 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1340251
ABSTRACT
Treatment with convalescent plasma has been shown to be safe in coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) infection, although efficacy reported in immunocompetent patients varies. Nevertheless, neutralizing antibodies are a key requisite in the fight against viral infections. Patients depleted of antibody-producing B cells, such as those treated with rituximab (anti-CD20) for hematological malignancies, lack a fundamental part of their adaptive immunity. Treatment with convalescent plasma appears to be of general benefit in this particularly vulnerable cohort. We analyzed clinical course and inflammation markers of three B-cell-depleted patients suffering from COVID-19 who were treated with convalescent plasma. In addition, we measured serum antibody levels as well as peripheral blood CD38/HLA-DR-positive T-cells ex vivo and CD137-positive T-cells after in vitro stimulation with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-derived peptides in these patients. We observed that therapy with convalescent plasma was effective in all three patients and analysis of CD137-positive T-cells after stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 peptides showed an increase in peptide-specific T-cells after application of convalescent plasma. In conclusion, we here demonstrate efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in three B-cell-depleted patients and present data that suggest that while application of convalescent plasma elevates systemic antibody levels only transiently, it may also boost specific T-cell responses.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
B-Lymphocytes
/
T-Lymphocytes
/
COVID-19
/
Antibodies, Viral
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Aged
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Eur J Immunol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Eji.202149277
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