Delayed antigen-specific CD4+ T cell induction correlates with impaired immune responses to SARS-COV-2 mRNA vaccination in the elderly

ABSTRACT

Despite the clinical efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 mRNA vaccines, the elderly demonstrate lower IgG levels and neutralizing titers and a higher risk of severe diseases. CD4+ T cells play a central role in regulating antigen-specific antibody and CD8+ T-cell responses; however, because their composition and functionality change significantly with age, relationships between age-associated defects in T cells and the immunogenicity of or reactogenicity to mRNA vaccines are unclear. Using a vaccine cohort (n = 216), we found that the elderly (aged [≥]65 years) showed delayed induction and early contraction of vaccine-specific CD4+ T cells, and that the compromised C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 3+ circulating T follicular helper cell response after the first dose was associated with the lower IgG levels. Additionally, the elderly experienced significantly fewer systemic adverse effects (AEs) after the second dose, with those exhibiting few AEs showing lower cytokine+ CD4+ T cells after the first dose and lower antibody levels after the second dose. Furthermore, T helper 1 cells in the elderly expressed higher levels of programmed cell death protein-1, a negative regulator of the T-cell response, which was associated with less production of vaccine-specific CD4+ T cells and impaired CD8+ T-cell expansion. Thus, efficient induction of vaccine-specific effector/memory CD4+ T cells after the first dose may trigger robust cytokine production after the second dose, leading to effective vaccine responses and higher systemic reactogenicity. These results suggested that an enhanced CD4+ T-cell response after the first dose is key to improved vaccination efficacy in the elderly. One Sentence SummaryWe compared immunogenicity and reactogenicity to COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in 107 adults (aged <65 years) and 109 elderly (aged [≥]65) individuals.