TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19 boosters restore virus-specific immune responses in kidney transplant recipients unresponsive to primary vaccination
AU - den Hartog, Yvette
AU - van Sleen, Yannick
AU - Gommers, Lennert
AU - Zaeck, Luca M.
AU - Geers, Daryl
AU - Messchendorp, A. Lianne
AU - Sanders, Jan Stephan F.
AU - Baan, Carla C.
AU - van Baarle, Debbie
AU - de Vries, Rory D.
AU - van der Molen, Renate
AU - Reinders, Marlies E.J.
AU - Kho, Marcia M.
AU - Gansevoort, Ron T.
AU - Remmerswaal, Esther
AU - Bemelman, Frederiek J.
AU - Hilbrands, Luuk H.J.
AU - Diavatopoulos, Dimitri
AU - Hemmelder, Marc H.
AU - Abrahams, Alfonso
AU - de Vries, Aiko P.J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2026.
PY - 2026/2/27
Y1 - 2026/2/27
N2 - Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) often exhibit impaired immune responses to vaccination, necessitating multiple doses to obtain sufficient protection from severe disease. This study compared immunological mechanisms underlying the vaccine-induced response between KTRs who responded to primary vaccination (primary responders) and those who only responded to a booster vaccination (booster responders). Humoral immune responses, including binding and Fc-mediated functionalities, and T cell responses, were generally comparable in primary and booster responders. More in-depth analyses revealed that booster responders had an expanded memory B cell pool and stronger omicron BA.1 neutralization, while primary responders had more IL-21-producing T cells and a distinct SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 T cell phenotype. Principal component analysis demonstrated that booster responders exhibited a more refined immune network integration. These results suggest that the delayed immune response of booster responders is not functionally impaired and that repeated vaccination is an effective strategy to achieve adequate protection in this population.
AB - Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) often exhibit impaired immune responses to vaccination, necessitating multiple doses to obtain sufficient protection from severe disease. This study compared immunological mechanisms underlying the vaccine-induced response between KTRs who responded to primary vaccination (primary responders) and those who only responded to a booster vaccination (booster responders). Humoral immune responses, including binding and Fc-mediated functionalities, and T cell responses, were generally comparable in primary and booster responders. More in-depth analyses revealed that booster responders had an expanded memory B cell pool and stronger omicron BA.1 neutralization, while primary responders had more IL-21-producing T cells and a distinct SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 T cell phenotype. Principal component analysis demonstrated that booster responders exhibited a more refined immune network integration. These results suggest that the delayed immune response of booster responders is not functionally impaired and that repeated vaccination is an effective strategy to achieve adequate protection in this population.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105031969802
U2 - 10.1038/s44298-026-00178-5
DO - 10.1038/s44298-026-00178-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105031969802
SN - 2948-1767
VL - 4
JO - NPJ Viruses
JF - NPJ Viruses
IS - 1
M1 - 14
ER -