AUTHOR=Petrone Linda , Tortorella Carla , Aiello Alessandra , Farroni Chiara , Ruggieri Serena , Castilletti Concetta , Meschi Silvia , Cuzzi Gilda , Vanini Valentina , Palmieri Fabrizio , Prosperini Luca , Haggiag Shalom , Galgani Simona , Grifoni Alba , Sette Alessandro , Gasperini Claudio , Nicastri Emanuele , Goletti Delia 

TITLE=Humoral and Cellular Response to Spike of Delta SARS-CoV-2 Variant in Vaccinated Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.881988

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2022.881988

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Objectives. We assessed vaccination-induced antibody and cellular response against spike from the ancestral strain and from the Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) treated with disease modifying treatments.
Methods. We enrolled 47 MS patients and 9 controls (“no MS”) having completed the vaccination schedule within 4-6 months from the first dose. The Interferon (IFN)-γ-response to spike peptides derived from the ancestral and the Delta SARS-CoV-2 were measured by ELISA. Anti-Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) IgG were also evaluated.
Results. No significant differences were found comparing the IFN-γ-specific immune response between MS and “no MS” subjects to the ancestral (p= 0.62) or Delta peptide pool (p=0.68). Nevertheless, a reduced IFN-γ-specific response to the ancestral or to the Delta pools was observed in subjects taking fingolimod or cladribina compared to subjects treated with ocrelizumab or IFN-β. The antibody response was significantly reduced in MS patients compared to “no MS” subjects (p=0.0452) mainly in patients taking ocrelizumab or fingolimod.
Conclusions. Cellular responses to Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant remain largely intact in patients with MS. However, the magnitude of these responses depends on the specific therapy.