Communications medicine最新文献

{"title":"Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era.","authors":"Hiam Chemaitelly, Houssein H Ayoub, Niklas Bobrovitz, Peter Coyle, Patrick Tang, Mohammad R Hasan, Hadi M Yassine, Asmaa A Al Thani, Zaina Al-Kanaani, Einas Al-Kuwari, Andrew Jeremijenko, Anvar Hassan Kaleeckal, Ali Nizar Latif, Riyazuddin Mohammad Shaik, Hanan F Abdul-Rahim, Gheyath K Nasrallah, Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari, Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi, Mohamed H Al-Thani, Abdullatif Al-Khal, Roberto Bertollini, Adeel A Butt, Laith J Abu-Raddad","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00974-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00974-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Past immunological events can either enhance or compromise an individual's future immune protection. This study investigated how different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) natural infection histories before an omicron infection, with or without vaccination, influence protection against subsequent omicron reinfection.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Three national, matched, retrospective cohort studies were conducted in Qatar from February 28, 2020, to August 12, 2024 to compare incidence of omicron reinfection between individuals with two omicron infections (omicron double-infection cohort) and those with one (omicron single-infection cohort); the omicron double-infection cohort with individuals who had a pre-omicron infection followed by an omicron reinfection (pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort); and the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort with the omicron single-infection cohort.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Here we show that, in the first study, comparing the omicron double-infection cohort to the omicron single-infection cohort, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) is 1.27 (95% CI: 1.13-1.43); 0.93 (95% CI: 0.68-1.28) for the unvaccinated and 1.34 (95% CI: 1.18-1.52) for the vaccinated. In the second study, comparing the omicron double-infection cohort to the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort, the aHR is 1.37 (95% CI: 1.13-1.65); 1.12 (95% CI: 0.63-1.97) for the unvaccinated and 1.42 (95% CI: 1.16-1.74) for the vaccinated. In the third study, comparing the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort to the omicron single-infection cohort, the aHR is 0.97 (95% CI: 0.92-1.03); 0.75 (95% CI: 0.66-0.85) for the unvaccinated and 1.03 (95% CI: 0.97-1.09) for the vaccinated.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Immune history shapes protection against omicron reinfection, with pre-omicron-omicron immunity enhancing protection, while repeated similar exposures reduce protection against new variants.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"262"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12215862/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144546377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term spatial patterns in COVID-19 booster vaccine uptake.","authors":"Anthony J Wood, Anne Marie MacKintosh, Martine Stead, Rowland R Kao","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00949-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00949-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Vaccination is a critical tool for controlling infectious diseases, with its use to protect against COVID-19 being a prime example. Where a disease is highly transmissible, even a small proportion of unprotected individuals can have substantial implications for disease burden and control. As factors such as deprivation and ethnicity have been shown to influence uptake rates, identifying how uptake varies with socio-demographic indicators is critical for reducing hesitancy and issues of access and identifying plausible future uptake patterns.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyse COVID-19 booster vaccinations in Scotland, subdivided by age, sex, dose and location. Linking to public demographic data, we use Random Forests to fit patterns in first booster uptake, with systematic variation restricted to  ~ 1km in urban areas. We introduce a method to predict future distributions using our first booster model, assuming existing trends over deprivation will persist. This provides a quantitative estimate of the impact of changing motivations and efforts to increase uptake.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>While age and sex have the greatest impact on the model fit, there is a substantial influence of community deprivation and the proportion of residents belonging to a black or minority ethnicity. Differences between first and second boosters suggest in the longer-term that the impact of deprivation is likely to increase.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This would further the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on deprived communities. Our methods are based solely on public demographic data and routinely recorded vaccination data, and would be easily adaptable to other countries and vaccination campaigns where data recording is similar.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"257"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12215375/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144546381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reprogramming of human urine cells into cardiomyocytes via a small molecule cocktail in xeno-free conditions.","authors":"Yu Chen, Aoli Li, Aijie Liu, Wei Zheng, Haishi Fan, Jingwei Zhang, Chenwen Huang","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00963-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00963-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cell therapy, particularly using cardiomyocytes, shows significant promise for treating heart failure. Direct reprogramming of somatic cells into cardiomyocytes using small molecules is advantageous due to its efficiency and cost-effectiveness.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Human urine-derived cells (hUCs) were transdifferentiated into functional cardiomyocyte-like cells (hCiCMs) using a cocktail of 15 small molecules under xeno-free conditions. Various Characterizations were performed, including immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), qPCR, single-cell RNA sequencing, patch-clamp recordings, and intracellular Ca²⁺ measurements. The therapeutic potential was tested in both mouse and porcine models of myocardial infarction (MI).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Reprogramming efficiency achieves 15.08% on day 30, with purity reaching 96.67% on day 60. hCiCMs display cardiomyocyte markers, sarcomeric structures, and abundant mitochondria. Electrophysiological analysis confirms ventricular-like action potentials and regular calcium transients. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals cardiomyocyte subpopulations resembling 13-week embryonic human heart cells, with gene ontology analysis indicating successful maturation. In the MI model, hCiCM transplantation improves cardiac function, increasing ejection fraction and fractional shortening while reducing fibrosis.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study demonstrates the successful reprogramming of hUCs into functional hCiCMs using small molecules under xeno-free conditions, offering a scalable, autologous cell source for cardiac repair with significant potential for regenerative therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"266"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12216017/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144546397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mosaic loss of chromosome Y in blood is associated with male susceptibility for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.","authors":"Josefin Bjurling, Nicholas W Chavkin, Jonatan Halvardson, Mark C Thel, Jonas Mattisson, John S Kim, Ammar Zaghlool, Shwu-Fan Ma, Fernando J Martinez, Kevin Anstrom, Imre Noth, Kenneth Walsh, Lars A Forsberg","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00966-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00966-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is higher in men, a previously not well-understood sex bias that extends across severity and mortality. Mosaic loss of chromosome Y (mLOY) in blood is male-specific and associated with adverse outcomes, including IPF. In mLOY-mice, enhanced TGF-β signaling has been reported to contribute to fibrosis of internal organs, but it is not known if such mLOY-driven disease mechanism exists in humans.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We focused here on IPF in men to investigate if mLOY contributes to fibrotic disease processes in humans, as demonstrated in mouse models. To this end, we investigated mLOY as a risk factor for male IPF in epidemiological and clinical datasets, as well as by re-analyses of published single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) datasets.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We find that men with mLOY in blood display an increased risk for IPF diagnosis and death caused by IPF in UK Biobank, and that mLOY is associated with reduced lung functions in two cohorts. Approximately 80% of the male excess in IPF prevalence occurs in the group of men with mLOY in blood leukocytes. Notably, scRNAseq analyses support that pulmonary leukocytes with Y loss exacerbate IPF by upregulating profibrotic genes and enhancing TGF-β signaling.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our results contribute to explaining the profound sex bias in IPF and replicate a mLOY-driven profibrotic disease mechanism first identified in mice. Male IPF patients with mLOY represent a subgroup that may benefit from treatment with TGF-β inhibitors.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"246"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12206232/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144531341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimal timing for atrial fibrillation patients to undergo catheter ablation.","authors":"Mingjie Lin, Huan Liang, Kai Zhang, Tongshuai Chen, Juntao Wang, Wenqiang Han, Bing Rong, Jingquan Zhong","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00960-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00960-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The optimal timing of undergoing catheter ablation for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) remains uncertain. We aimed to investigate the impact of diagnosis-to-ablation time (DAT) on AF recurrence and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) following catheter ablation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study analyzed prospective observational data from a single center, including 2097 participants (59.98 ± 10.57 years, 62.7% male) undergoing AF ablation between January 2016 and December 2020. Patients were stratified by DAT: ≤ 1 year, > 1 to ≤ 3 years, and > 3 years. Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression analyses were used to identify predictors of AF recurrence and MACCE.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the 46.89 ± 16.46 months follow-up, AF recurs in 512 patients (24.6%). A longer delay per month is significantly associated with a higher recurrence of AF based on multivariable Cox regression analysis [Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.003 (95% CI: 1.001-1.005), p = 0.015]. This association remains consistent in patients with persistent AF (HR compared to DAT ≤ 1 year: 1.548 [95% CI: 1.139-2.102], p = 0.016), but not in those with paroxysmal AF. Left atrial diameter ≥40 mm and female are identified as independent predictors of AF recurrence. The overall impact of DAT on MACCE occurrence is not significant, with age and vascular disease being independent predictors.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Early catheter ablation is preferable for maintaining sinus rhythm, particularly in persistent AF. However, DAT dose not influence the incidence of MACCE. These findings endorse the paradigm shift towards early ablation.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"245"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12182564/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144340752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine and its association with vaccine information and misinformation in Malawi.","authors":"John Songo, Hannah S Whitehead, Khumbo Phiri, Pericles Kalande, Eric Lungu, Sam Phiri, Joep van Oosterhout, Agnes Moses, Risa M Hoffman, Corrina Moucheraud","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00864-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00864-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The information environment may be an important determinant of vaccination and other health behaviors including in low-income countries.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We administered a survey to 895 Malawian adults, asking about people's COVID-19 vaccination history and their exposure to information (information sources and tone of this information) and misinformation (exposure to and belief in conspiracy theories) about the COVID-19 vaccine.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Just under half (43%) of respondents had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Respondents heard about the COVID-19 vaccine from a median of 7 sources, most commonly from friends and neighbors, health care workers, and radio (each reported by >90%). Social media are the least positively- or neutrally-framed sources of information; and traditional medicine practitioners are the most common negatively-framed source of information. There is less information access among women, rural residents, and people with lower educational attainment. Many people hear conspiracy theories but say that they do not believe them. Hearing more COVID-19 vaccine information is positively associated with COVID-19 vaccination (aOR 1.09, 95% CI [1.03-1.15]), while believing COVID-19 vaccine misinformation is negatively associated (aOR 0.78, 95% CI [0.68-0.89]).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Vaccination programs should communicate through multiple information sources and find ways to reach groups with less information exposure.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"244"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12182586/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144340753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A survey of pathogenic involvement in non-communicable human diseases.","authors":"Michael Lape, Daniel Schnell, Sreeja Parameswaran, Kevin Ernst, Shannon O'Connor, Nathan Salomonis, Lisa J Martin, Brett M Harnett, Leah C Kottyan, Matthew T Weirauch","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00956-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00956-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Many relationships between pathogens and human disease are well-established. However, only a small fraction involve diseases considered non-communicable (NCDs). In this study, we sought to leverage the vast amount of newly available electronic health record data to identify potentially novel pathogen-NCD associations and find additional evidence supporting known associations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We leverage data from The UK Biobank and TriNetX to perform a systematic survey across 20 pathogens and 426 diseases, primarily NCDs. To this end, we assess the association between disease status and infection history proxies using a logistic regression-based statistical approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our approach identifies 206 pathogen-disease pairs that replicate in both cohorts. We replicate many established relationships, including Helicobacter pylori, with several gastroenterological diseases and connections between Epstein-Barr virus and both multiple sclerosis and lupus. Overall, our approach identifies evidence of association for 15 pathogens and 96 distinct diseases, including a currently controversial link between human cytomegalovirus (CMV) and ulcerative colitis (UC). We validate the CMV-UC connection through two orthogonal analyses, revealing increased CMV gene expression in UC patients and enrichment for UC genetic risk signal near human genes that have altered expression upon CMV infection.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Collectively, these results form a foundation for future investigations into mechanistic roles played by pathogens in the processes underlying NCDs. All results are easily accessible on our website, https://tf.cchmc.org/pathogen-disease .</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"242"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12181406/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144337299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trajectories of healthy lifestyle index and prediabetes risk of adult workers in Japan.","authors":"Keisuke Kuwahara, Shuichiro Yamamoto, Toru Honda, Tohru Nakagawa, Maki Konishi, Tetsuya Mizoue","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00971-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00971-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The relationship between health-related lifestyle trajectories and prediabetes risk among adults with normoglycemia remains unclear. We investigated this issue using data from a cohort of working individuals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cohort study included 10,773 workers (8986 men) aged 30-64 years in Japan, with normoglycemia in 2009, followed until 2017 using annual health checkup data. The trajectories of health-related lifestyles were identified during 2006-2009 using group-based trajectory modeling; we calculated the health-related lifestyle index in each year using five lifestyle factors: smoking, alcohol use, exercise, sleep duration, and body weight control (0-5 points; higher score indicated healthier lifestyles). Prediabetes was defined by fasting plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1c based on the American Diabetes Association criteria; the onset was assessed from 2009 to 2017. Cox regression with adjustment for demographic, health-related, and work-related factors was used to evaluate the association of lifestyle trajectories and prediabetes risk.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Five trajectories of health-related lifestyles are identified. Maintaining or improving health-related lifestyles are linked to lower prediabetes risks. Compared with a persistently very unhealthy pattern, the adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) are 0.92 (0.84, 0.99), 0.82 (0.71, 0.95), 0.83 (0.76, 0.90), and 0.74 (0.67, 0.83) for \"persistently very unhealthy\", \"persistently unhealthy\", \"improved from unhealthy to moderately healthy\", \"persistently moderately healthy\", and \"persistently mostly healthy\" trajectories, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Participants with healthier lifestyle trajectories tend to have a lower risk of developing prediabetes. The prediabetes risk at the trajectory of improved from unhealthy lifestyles is lower than that of persistently unhealthy lifestyles.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"240"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12181235/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144337302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementing health economics for pharmacogenomics research translation in Africa.","authors":"Mohamed Zahir Alimohamed, George Dennis Obeng, Marcell Csanadi, Collen Masimirembwa, Collet Dandara","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00955-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00955-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pharmacogenomics studies how a person's inherited genes influence response to therapeutic drugs. Many drugs do not work in all patients and pharmacogenomics can assist in the identification of patients who are better suited to particular drugs or patients who need adjusted drug doses to reach better treatment outcomes. This stratification of patients could be beneficial in Africa as it would allow drugs that would ordinarily be discontinued due to toxicity on a proportion of the populations to be used in a directed manner in people for whom it is not toxic. However, there has been limited use of pharmacogenomics. One of the key issues has been the need to demonstrate the economic benefits of adopting pharmacogenomics implementation and the impact on healthcare cost drivers. Integration of pharmacogenomics into clinical practice has huge potential in Africa due to the large genetic diversity in African populations. This Perspective article explores the current pharmacogenomics landscape, the health economics associated with its implementation, and future directions for pharmacogenomics research translation in Africa.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"241"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12181413/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144337301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determinants of antibody levels and protection against omicron BQ.1/XBB breakthrough infection.","authors":"Carla Martín Pérez, Anna Ramírez-Morros, Alfons Jiménez, Marta Vidal, Edwards Pradenas, Diana Barrios, Mar Canyelles, Rocío Rubio, Inocencia Cuamba, Luis Izquierdo, Pere Santamaria, Benjamin Trinité, Josep Vidal-Alaball, Luis M Molinos-Albert, Julià Blanco, Ruth Aguilar, Anna Ruiz-Comellas, Gemma Moncunill, Carlota Dobaño","doi":"10.1038/s43856-025-00943-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43856-025-00943-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2, particularly through the emergence of new variants, continues to challenge our understanding of immune protection. While antibody levels correlate with protection against earlier variants such as Alpha and Delta, their relationship with Omicron sub-variants remains unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To investigate the role of antibody levels and neutralizing activity in preventing breakthrough infections, we analyzed longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 humoral responses and neutralizing activity against the ancestral virus and major emerging variants in a well-characterized cohort of healthcare workers in Spain (N = 405).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We find that antibody levels and neutralization titers are key indicators of protection against SARS-CoV-2, including the more evasive BQ.1 and XBB Omicron variants. Higher IgG and IgA levels are associated with protection over three 6-month follow-up periods sequentially dominated by BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, BQ.1, and XBB Omicron sub-variants, although the strength of the association between antibody levels and protection declines over time.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings demonstrate that binding antibody levels and neutralizing responses are valid correlates of protection against more evasive BQ.1 and XBB Omicron variants, although the strength of this association diminishes over time. Additionally, our results underscore the importance of continuous monitoring and updating vaccination strategies to maintain effective protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.</p>","PeriodicalId":72646,"journal":{"name":"Communications medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":"243"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12181274/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144337300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}