SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination elicits robust and persistent T follicular helper cell response in humans

Mudd, Philip A.; Minervina, Anastasia A.; Pogorelyy, Mikhail V.; Turner, Jackson S.; Kim, Wooseob; Kalaidina, Elizaveta; Petersen, Jan; Schmitz, Aaron J.; Lei, Tingting; Haile, Alem; Kirk, Allison M.; Mettelman, Robert C.; Crawford, Jeremy Chase; Nguyen, Thi H.O.; Rowntree, Louise C.; Rosati, Elisa; Klebert, Michael K.; Suessen, Teresa; Middleton, William D.; Wolf, Joshua; Teefey, Sharlene A.; O’Halloran, Jane A.; Presti, Rachel M.; Kedzierska, Katherine; Rossjohn, Jamie; Thomas, Paul G.; Ellebedy, Ali H.

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines induce robust anti-spike (S) antibody and CD4+ T cell responses. It is not yet clear whether vaccine-induced follicular helper CD4+ T (TFH) cell responses contribute to this outstanding immunogenicity. Using fine needle aspiration of draining axillary lymph nodes from individuals who received the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, we show that frequency of TFH correlates with that of S-binding germinal center B cells. Mining of the responding TFH T cell receptor repertoire revealed a strikingly immunodominant HLADPB1* 04-restricted response to S167-180 in individuals with this allele, which is among the most common HLA alleles in humans. Paired blood and lymph node specimens show that while circulating S-specific TFH cells peak one week after the second immunization, S-specific TFH persist at nearly constant frequencies for at least six months. Collectively, our results underscore the key role that robust TFH cell responses play in establishing long-term immunity by this efficacious human vaccine.