Successful clearance of persistent SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic infection following a single dose of Ad5-nCoV vaccine

作者：Qiu, Shaofu; Chen, Zhao; Zhu, Airu; Zeng, Qiuhui; Liu, Hongbo; Liu, Xiaoqing; Ye, Feng; Jin, Yingkang; Wu, Jie; Yang, Chaojie; Wang, Qi; Chen, Fangli; Chen, Lan; Tian, Sai; Du, Xinying; Hu, Qingtao; Cheng, Jinling; Chen, Canjie; Li, Fang; Sun, Jing; Wang, Yanqun; Zhao, Jingxian^*; Zhao, Jincun^*; Song, Hongbin^*

来源：Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 2023, 8(1): 123.

DOI：10.1038/s41392-023-01345-3

• T-CELL RESPONSES

Persistent asymptomatic (PA) SARS-CoV-2 infections have been identified. The immune responses in these patients are unclear, and the development of effective treatments for these patients is needed. Here, we report a cohort of 23 PA cases carrying viral RNA for up to 191 days. PA cases displayed low levels of inflammatory and interferon response, weak antibody response, diminished circulating follicular helper T cells (cTfh), and inadequate specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell responses during infection, which is distinct from symptomatic infections and resembling impaired immune activation. Administration of a single dose of Ad5-nCoV vaccine to 10 of these PA cases elicited rapid and robust antibody responses as well as coordinated B-cell and cTfh responses, resulting in successful viral clearance. Vaccine-induced antibodies were able to neutralize various variants of concern and persisted for over 6 months, indicating long-term protection. Therefore, our study provides an insight into the immune status of PA infections and highlights vaccination as a potential treatment for prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infections.

• 单位
  1; 广州医学院