Impaired cellular immune responses to herpes zoster subunit vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving Janus kinase inhibitors.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate cellular immune responses to the herpes zoster (HZ) subunit (HZ/su) vaccine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis).

Methods

RA patients treated with JAKi (n = 46) at the Department of Rheumatology, Skåne University Hospital, Sweden, and healthy controls (n = 37) received two doses of the HZ/su vaccine. Blood samples were collected before and ∼6 weeks after vaccination. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) glycoprotein E (gE)-specific lymphocyte proliferation was analysed using flow cytometry. gE-specific production of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α and IFNγ was analysed using an immunoassay. gE-specific responses were compared before and after vaccination within the groups (Wilcoxon signed-rank test), and betwe

SUBMITTER: Kallmark H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12861083 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature