CD4+ T Cells of Prostate Cancer Patients Have Decreased Immune Responses to Antigens Derived from SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein

Abstract

The adaptive immune response to severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is important for vaccine development and in the recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Men and cancer patients have been reported to be at higher risks of contracting the virus and developing the more severe forms of COVID-19. Prostate cancer (PCa) may be associated with both of these risks. We show that CD4+ T cells of SARS-CoV-2-unexposed patients with hormone-refractory (HR) metastatic PCa had decreased CD4+ T cell immune responses to antigens from SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein but not from the spiked glycoprotein of the 'common cold'-associated human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) as compared with healthy male volunteers who responded comparably to both HCoV-229E- and SARS-CoV-2-derived antigens. Moreover, the HCoV-229E spike glycoprotein antigen-elicited CD4+ T cell immune responses cross-reacted with the SARS-CoV-2 spiked glycoprotein antigens. PCa patients may have impaired responses to the vaccination, and the cross-reactivity can mediate antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of COVID-19. These findings highlight the potential for increased vulnerability of PCa patients to COVID-19.

Effectiveness and durability of the mRNA vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral and cellular immunity in severe asthma patients on biological therapy

“…This mobilization relies on both CD4 + and CD8 + T cells to recognize the target antigen and their effective proliferation after the antigen recognition. To exclude that the patients’ biological therapy compromised both these abilities of T cells, we tested the cellular immunogenicity of the vaccine using peptides derived from SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein ( 39, 40 ). These peptides were used to in vitro enrich the patients’ PBMCs with the peptide-reactive TNFα-, IFNγ- or TNFα/IFNγ-producing CD4 + or CD8 + T cell populations (Fig.…”

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on vaccination and treatment pattern of prostate cancer: a comprehensive literature review, phase 2

“…[13] There were concerns about the impaired immune response to vaccination in prostate cancer: in a study of patients with hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer, the CD4+ T cells of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) of unexposed patients had decreased CD4+ T cell immune responses to antigens from SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein but not from the spiked glycoprotein of the 'common cold'-associated human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) as compared with healthy controls who responded comparably to both antigens. [14] However, a study analyzing the median titers of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 of twenty-five patients with prostate cancer under treatment with androgen receptor-targeted agents such as abiraterone or enzalutamide, found it to be similar to healthy volunteers. [15]…”