COVID-19 boosters restore virus-specific immune responses in kidney transplant recipients unresponsive to primary vaccination.

ABSTRACT: Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) often exhibit impaired immune responses to vaccination, necessitating multiple doses to obtain sufficient protection from severe disease. This study compared immunological mechanisms underlying the vaccine-induced response between KTRs who responded to primary vaccination (primary responders) and those who only responded to a booster vaccination (booster responders). Humoral immune responses, including binding and Fc-mediated functionalities, and T cell responses, were generally comparable in primary and booster responders. More in-depth analyses revealed that booster responders had an expanded memory B cell pool and stronger omicron BA.1 neutralization, while primary responders had more IL-21-producing T cells and a distinct SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 T ce

SUBMITTER: den Hartog Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12948986 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature