Kinetics of pro- and anti-inflammatory spike-specific cellular immune responses in long-term care facility residents after COVID-19 mRNA primary and booster vaccination: a prospective longitudinal study in Japan.

Background: The magnitude and durability of cell-mediated immunity in older and severely frail individuals following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination remain unclear. A controlled immune response could be the key to preventing severe COVID-19; however, it is uncertain whether vaccination induces an anti-inflammatory cellular immune response. To address these issues, a 48-week-long prospective longitudinal study was conducted. A total of 106 infection-naive participants (57 long-term care facility [LTCF] residents [median age; 89.0 years], 28 outpatients [median age; 72.0 years], and 21 healthcare workers [median age; 51.0 years]) provided peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples for the assessment of spike-specific PBMC responses before primary vaccination, 24 weeks after primary vaccination, and three months after booster vaccination. Cellular immune responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein were examined by measuring interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 levels secreted from the spike protein peptide-stimulated PBMCs of participants.

Results: LTCF residents exhibited significantly lower IFN-γ, TNF, IL-2, and IL-6 levels than healthcare workers after the primary vaccination. Booster vaccination increased IL-2 and IL-6 levels in LTCF residents comparable to those in healthcare workers, whereas IFN-γ and TNF levels in LTCF residents remained significantly lower than those in healthcare workers. IL-10 levels were not significantly different from the initial values after primary vaccination but increased significantly after booster vaccination in all subgroups. Multivariate analysis showed that age was negatively associated with IFN-γ, TNF, IL-2, and IL-6 levels but not with IL-10 levels. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IFN-γ, TNF, IL-2, and IL-6, were positively correlated with humoral immune responses, whereas IL-10 levels were not.

Conclusions: Older and severely frail individuals may exhibit diminished spike-specific PBMC responses following COVID-19 vaccination compared to the general population. A single booster vaccination may not adequately enhance cell-mediated immunity in older and severely frail individuals to a level comparable to that in the general population. Furthermore, booster vaccination may induce not only a pro-inflammatory cellular immune response but also an anti-inflammatory cellular immune response, potentially mitigating detrimental hyperinflammation.