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. 2022 Mar 22:jiac060. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiac060

Induction of NK cell-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against SARS-CoV-2 after natural infection is more potent than after vaccination

Gereon J Rieke 1, Kathrin van Bremen 2, Jenny Bischoff 3, Michael To Vinh 4, Malte B Monin 5, Stefan Schlabe 6,7, Jan Raabe 8, Kim M Kaiser 9, Claudia Finnemann 10, Alexandru Odainic 11,12, Anushka Kudaliyanage 13, Eicke Latz 14, Christian P Strassburg 15, Christoph Boesecke 16,17, Susanne V Schmidt 18, Benjamin Krämer 19, Jürgen K Rockstroh 20,21, Jacob Nattermann 22,23,
PMCID: PMC8992321  PMID: 35323975

Abstract

We compared the ability of SARS-CoV2 Spike-specific antibodies to induce natural killer (NK) cell-mediated antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) in patients with natural infection and vaccinated persons. Analyzing plasma samples from 39 COVID-19 patients and 11 vaccinated individuals, significant induction of ADCC could be observed over a period of more than three months in both vaccinated and recovered individuals. Although plasma antibody concentrations were lower in recovered patients, we found antibodies elicited by natural infection induced a significantly stronger ADCC response compared to those induced by vaccination, which may affect protection conferred by vaccination.

Keywords: ADCC, COVID-19, NK cell, mRNA Vaccine

Contributor Information

Gereon J Rieke, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Kathrin van Bremen, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Jenny Bischoff, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Michael To Vinh, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Malte B Monin, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Stefan Schlabe, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner-site Cologne-Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Jan Raabe, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Kim M Kaiser, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Claudia Finnemann, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Alexandru Odainic, Institute of Innate Immunity, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Anushka Kudaliyanage, Institute of Innate Immunity, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Eicke Latz, Institute of Innate Immunity, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Christian P Strassburg, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Christoph Boesecke, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner-site Cologne-Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Susanne V Schmidt, Institute of Innate Immunity, Medical Faculty, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Benjamin Krämer, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Jürgen K Rockstroh, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner-site Cologne-Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Jacob Nattermann, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner-site Cologne-Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Supplementary Material

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Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

jiac060_suppl_Supplementary_Figure_Legends
jiac060_suppl_Supplementary_Figure_S1
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Articles from The Journal of Infectious Diseases are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

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