Anti-inflammatory drugs and immunogenicity of vaccines in patients with rheumatic diseases

ABSTRACT

The problem of comorbid infections in rheumatology seems to be very relevant in connection with the active introduction into clinical practice of innovative disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), the so-called targeted DMARDs (tDMARDs), as well as genetically engineered biological drugs (biologics), the action of which is directed at specific links in the pathogenesis of immuno-inflammatory rheumatic diseases. With the accumulation of global clinical experience, the association of the use of these drugs with an increasing risk of developing comorbid infections of various nature and localization has become clearly traced. The real way out of this situation seems to be the creation, improvement and introduction into clinical practice of various vaccines. At the same time, a number of anti-rheumatic drugs may have a certain negative effect on the immunogenicity of some vaccines, which may lead to a decrease in the preventive effectiveness of the latter. This review presents the latest data on the effect of various anti-rheumatic drugs on the immunogenicity of vaccines against influenza, pneumococcal and herpes virus infections, viral hepatitis B, yellow fever and COVID-19 used in rheumatological patients. It has been shown that the anti-B-cell drug ritux-imab has a significant negative effect on the immunogenicity of vaccines, which increases with a shortening of the time between immunization and the use of the drug. Methotrexate also negatively affects the immunogenicity of most vaccines, but to a lesser extent. Abatacept probably reduces the immunogenicity of vaccines, although studies were performed in the absence of adequate control groups. Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors-α and tDMARDs (janus kinase inhibitors) reduce the absolute values of antibody concentrations for many vaccines, but apparently do not have a significant effect on the frequency of patients who have achieved seroprotection. Inhibitors of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12 / IL-23 and IL-17 practically do not affect the immunogenicity of vaccines. The accumulated data on the effect of the above drugs on the immunogenicity of the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, apparently, are similar to those obtained in studies on vaccination against other infections in patients with immuno-inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Further clinical studies are needed to assess the effect of immunosuppressive therapy on the vaccine response and to develop methods for its optimization. © 2021, Remedium Group Ltd. All rights reserved.