Comparison of IgA, IgG, and Neutralizing Antibody Responses Following Immunization With Moderna, BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sputnik-V, Johnson and Johnson, and Sinopharm’s COVID-19 Vaccines

Abstract

In an ongoing multinational trial, we obtained blood samples from 365 volunteers vaccinated with mRNA vaccines (Moderna, BioNTech), viral DNA-vectored vaccines (AstraZeneca, Sputnik-V, and Johnson and Johnson), or the attenuated virus vaccine from Sinopharm. After collecting reactogenicity data, the expression of S-Protein binding IgG and IgA was analyzed using an automated sandwich ELISA system. Serum neutralizing potentials were then investigated using an ACE-2-RBD neutralizing assay. Moderna’s vaccine induced the highest amounts of SARS-CoV-2 specific neutralizing antibodies compared to the other groups. In contrast, Sinopharm and Johnson and Johnson’s vaccinees presented the lowest SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody titers. Interestingly, moderate to high negative correlations between age and virus-specific IgG expression were observed in the Johnson and Johnson (ρ =-0.3936) and Sinopharm (ρ =-0.6977) groups according to Spearman’s rank correlation analysis. A negative correlation was seen between age and IgA expression in the Sputnik-V group (ρ =-0.3917). The analysis of virus neutralization potentials in age categories demonstrated that no significant neutralization potential was observed in older vaccinees (61and 80 years old) in the Sputnik-V Johnson and Johnson and Sinopharm vaccinees’ groups. In contrast, neutralization potentials in sera of Moderna, BioNTech, and AstraZeneca vaccinees were statistically comparable in all age categories. Furthermore, while the AstraZeneca vaccine alone induced moderate IgG and IgA expression, the combination with Moderna or BioNTech mRNA vaccines induced significantly higher antibody levels than a double dose of AstraZeneca and similar IgG expression and neutralization potential compared to Moderna or BioNTech vaccines used alone. These results suggest that mRNA vaccines are the most immunogenic after two doses. DNA vectored vaccines from AstraZeneca and Sputnik-V presented lower but significant antibody expression and virus neutralizing properties after two doses. The lowest antibody and neutralization potential were observed in the Sinopharm or Johnson and Johnson vaccinees. Especially elderly over 60 presented no significant increase in neutralizing antibodies after vaccination. The data also indicate that heterologous vaccination strategies combining the AstraZeneca DNA vectored vaccines and mRNA vaccines are more effective in the induction of neutralizing antibodies compared to their homologous counterparts.

Combined monitoring of IgG and IgA anti-Spike and anti-Receptor binding domain long term responses following BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination in Greek healthcare workers

“…The faster drop rate of anti-RBD compared to anti-S Ab levels could similarly be explained by a narrower anti-RBD Ab repertoire, targeting a restricted number of epitopes compared to those on trimeric Spike ectodomain. While the RC index has been shown to be significantly higher in cohorts of vaccinees receiving either mRNA or adenovirus vector-based COVID-19 vaccines compared to infected individuals, several hypotheses have been made trying to explain this fastest decline, such as the lack in number and diversity of memory B-cells and of bone marrow plasma cells [ 28 , 29 ]. According to our data, although the first vaccine dose resulted in a positive RC index, specifically for anti-S Abs, a significant increase in the RC index for anti-RBD Abs was especially observed between Day21 and Day42, reflecting the importance of the second vaccine dose for the efficient production of anti-RBD Abs.…”

“…One more parameter that significantly affects post-vaccination anti-viral IgG and IgA kinetics is the type of the vaccine, as different candidates are globally available. Studies on different vaccine types report that mRNA vaccines induced the highest amount of anti-S IgG and IgA Abs and a high serum neutralization potential when compared to vector based vaccines (e.g., Astra Zeneca, Janssen, Sputnik-V) or vaccines using whole inactivated SARS-CoV-2 viral particles (Sinopharm) [ 29 ]. All types of vaccination also induced spike-specific IgA secretion, indicating individual mucosal immunity against SARS-CoV-2 [ 29 ].…”

“…Studies on different vaccine types report that mRNA vaccines induced the highest amount of anti-S IgG and IgA Abs and a high serum neutralization potential when compared to vector based vaccines (e.g., Astra Zeneca, Janssen, Sputnik-V) or vaccines using whole inactivated SARS-CoV-2 viral particles (Sinopharm) [ 29 ]. All types of vaccination also induced spike-specific IgA secretion, indicating individual mucosal immunity against SARS-CoV-2 [ 29 ]. We observed highly increased IgA levels for some individuals already after the first vaccination with BNT162b2, arguing for a highly individual variance in class switch towards IgA.…”

“…Among vector-based vaccines, a higher IgA expression was seen in individuals vaccinated with Sputnik-V, while Janssen vaccine exhibited a rather poor performance. On the other hand, Sinopharm vaccine had an even weaker performance in terms of neutralizing Ab induction [ 29 ]. These observations for adenovirus-vectored and virus-inactive vaccines, particularly in older vaccinees, may partially be explained by cross-reactive Abs generated by previous adenoviruses natural infections or vaccinations [ 43 ].…”

Herpetic endotheliitis and stromal keratitis following inactivated COVID‐19 vaccination

“… 12 In a recent study, it was revealed that that Sinopharm vaccine has relatively lower performance in terms of producing IgG antibodies and other parameters as well. 13 In return, the higher immune response could trigger unintended adverse reactions through immune enhancement in various parts of body. This explains the relatively lower inflammatory adverse events including ocular ones, reported after inactivated vaccines.…”