2023
Cytokinopathy with aberrant cytotoxic lymphocytes and profibrotic myeloid response in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine–associated myocarditis
Barmada A, Klein J, Ramaswamy A, Brodsky N, Jaycox J, Sheikha H, Jones K, Habet V, Campbell M, Sumida T, Kontorovich A, Bogunovic D, Oliveira C, Steele J, Hall E, Pena-Hernandez M, Monteiro V, Lucas C, Ring A, Omer S, Iwasaki A, Yildirim I, Lucas C. Cytokinopathy with aberrant cytotoxic lymphocytes and profibrotic myeloid response in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine–associated myocarditis. Science Immunology 2023, 8: eadh3455-eadh3455. PMID: 37146127, PMCID: PMC10468758, DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adh3455.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMRNA vaccinesSARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinesSARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinationC-reactive protein levelsB-type natriuretic peptidePeripheral blood mononuclear cellsCardiac tissue inflammationDeep immune profilingSerum soluble CD163Vaccine-associated myocarditisCohort of patientsBlood mononuclear cellsCytotoxic T cellsLate gadolinium enhancementHypersensitivity myocarditisElevated troponinMRNA vaccinationImaging abnormalitiesNK cellsImmune profilingKiller cellsMyeloid responseNatriuretic peptideHumoral mechanismsInflammatory cytokinesEnhanced inhibition of MHC-I expression by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants
Moriyama M, Lucas C, Monteiro V, Initiative Y, Iwasaki A, Chen N, Breban M, Hahn A, Pham K, Koch T, Chaguza C, Tikhonova I, Castaldi C, Mane S, De Kumar B, Ferguson D, Kerantzas N, Peaper D, Landry M, Schulz W, Vogels C, Grubaugh N. Enhanced inhibition of MHC-I expression by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2023, 120: e2221652120. PMID: 37036977, PMCID: PMC10120007, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221652120.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMHC-I expressionBreakthrough infectionsSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variantsMajor histocompatibility complex class I expressionCell-mediated immunityInfluenza virus infectionSARS-CoV-2 VOCsMHC-I upregulationClass I expressionSARS-CoV-2T cell recognitionVirus infectionMHC II expressionSpike proteinEnhanced inhibitionInfectionCell recognitionCommon mutationsReinfectionE proteinAntibodiesViral genesSubvariantsExpressionNonsystematic Reporting Biases of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant Mu Could Impact Our Understanding of the Epidemiological Dynamics of Emerging Variants
Petrone M, Lucas C, Menasche B, Breban M, Yildirim I, Campbell M, Omer S, Holmes E, Ko A, Grubaugh N, Iwasaki A, Wilen C, Vogels C, Fauver J. Nonsystematic Reporting Biases of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant Mu Could Impact Our Understanding of the Epidemiological Dynamics of Emerging Variants. Genome Biology And Evolution 2023, 15: evad052. PMID: 36974986, PMCID: PMC10113931, DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad052.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines decouple anti-viral immunity from humoral autoimmunity
Jaycox J, Lucas C, Yildirim I, Dai Y, Wang E, Monteiro V, Lord S, Carlin J, Kita M, Buckner J, Ma S, Campbell M, Ko A, Omer S, Lucas C, Speake C, Iwasaki A, Ring A. SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines decouple anti-viral immunity from humoral autoimmunity. Nature Communications 2023, 14: 1299. PMID: 36894554, PMCID: PMC9996559, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36686-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsVaccine-associated myocarditisAutoimmune patientsAutoantibody reactivitySARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinationVaccine-related adverse effectsSARS-CoV-2 immunitySARS-CoV-2 infectionAcute COVID-19Development of autoantibodiesCOVID-19 patientsAnti-viral immunityVirus-specific antibodiesCOVID-19 vaccineCOVID-19Humoral autoimmunityMRNA vaccinationAutoantibody responsePost vaccinationAutoantibody developmentAutoimmune diseasesHumoral responseHealthy individualsPatientsAntigen profilingAdverse effects
2022
No evidence of fetal defects or anti-syncytin-1 antibody induction following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination
Lu-Culligan A, Tabachnikova A, Pérez-Then E, Tokuyama M, Lee HJ, Lucas C, Monteiro V, Miric M, Brache V, Cochon L, Muenker MC, Mohanty S, Huang J, Kang I, Dela Cruz C, Farhadian S, Campbell M, Yildirim I, Shaw AC, Ma S, Vermund SH, Ko AI, Omer SB, Iwasaki A. No evidence of fetal defects or anti-syncytin-1 antibody induction following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. PLOS Biology 2022, 20: e3001506. PMID: 35609110, PMCID: PMC9129011, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001506.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCOVID-19 mRNA vaccinationMRNA vaccinationEarly pregnancyFetal sizeCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccinationSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2Acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2Respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2Maternal antibody statusAdverse neonatal outcomesSyndrome coronavirus 2Birth defectsPolyinosinic-polycytidylic acidCrown-rump lengthGross birth defectsUnvaccinated adultsMaternal illnessNeonatal outcomesVaccinated adultsAntibody statusTLR3 agonistEarly immunizationMurine pregnancyAntibody inductionCoronavirus 2Development and utilization of a surrogate SARS-CoV-2 viral neutralization assay to assess mRNA vaccine responses
Wisnewski AV, Liu J, Lucas C, Klein J, Iwasaki A, Cantley L, Fazen L, Luna J, Slade M, Redlich CA. Development and utilization of a surrogate SARS-CoV-2 viral neutralization assay to assess mRNA vaccine responses. PLOS ONE 2022, 17: e0262657. PMID: 35041700, PMCID: PMC8765639, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262657.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPlaque reduction neutralization testCOVID-19 patientsVaccine responsesRecovered COVID-19 patientsSARS-CoV-2 immunityBooster vaccine dosesMRNA vaccine responsePost-vaccine seraCompetitive ELISAEnzyme 2 (ACE2) receptorReduction neutralization testType of vaccineSARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptorSpike protein receptorVaccine seraVaccine recipientsPost vaccinationVaccinated individualsVaccine dosesViral culturePrior historyViral neutralizationNeutralization testBooster shotsPost vaccine
2021
A stem-loop RNA RIG-I agonist protects against acute and chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice
Mao T, Israelow B, Lucas C, Vogels CBF, Gomez-Calvo ML, Fedorova O, Breban MI, Menasche BL, Dong H, Linehan M, Alpert T, Anderson F, Earnest R, Fauver J, Kalinich C, Munyenyembe K, Ott I, Petrone M, Rothman J, Watkins A, Wilen C, Landry M, Grubaugh N, Pyle A, Iwasaki A. A stem-loop RNA RIG-I agonist protects against acute and chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. Journal Of Experimental Medicine 2021, 219: e20211818. PMID: 34757384, PMCID: PMC8590200, DOI: 10.1084/jem.20211818.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSARS-CoV-2 infectionChronic SARS-CoV-2 infectionVariants of concernLethal SARS-CoV-2 infectionPost-infection therapyLower respiratory tractPost-exposure treatmentType I interferonSARS-CoV-2Effective medical countermeasuresAdaptive immune systemBroad-spectrum antiviralsContext of infectionSingle doseRespiratory tractViral controlImmunodeficient miceSevere diseaseMouse modelI interferonViral infectionImmune systemInnate immunityDisease preventionConsiderable efficacyImpact of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants on mRNA vaccine-induced immunity
Lucas C, Vogels CBF, Yildirim I, Rothman JE, Lu P, Monteiro V, Gehlhausen JR, Campbell M, Silva J, Tabachnikova A, Peña-Hernandez MA, Muenker MC, Breban MI, Fauver JR, Mohanty S, Huang J, Shaw A, Ko A, Omer S, Grubaugh N, Iwasaki A. Impact of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants on mRNA vaccine-induced immunity. Nature 2021, 600: 523-529. PMID: 34634791, PMCID: PMC9348899, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04085-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSARS-CoV-2 variantsMRNA vaccine-induced immunityT-cell activation markersSARS-CoV-2 antibodiesSecond vaccine doseVaccine-induced immunityCell activation markersT cell responsesHigh antibody titresSARS-CoV-2Vaccine boosterVaccine doseActivation markersVaccine dosesHumoral immunityAntibody titresMRNA vaccinesVitro stimulationNeutralization capacityNeutralization responseCell responsesE484KNucleocapsid peptideAntibody-binding sitesGreater reductionAssociations of SARS-CoV-2 serum IgG with occupation and demographics of military personnel
Zell J, Wisnewski AV, Liu J, Klein J, Lucas C, Slade M, Iwasaki A, Redlich CA. Associations of SARS-CoV-2 serum IgG with occupation and demographics of military personnel. PLOS ONE 2021, 16: e0251114. PMID: 34460832, PMCID: PMC8405017, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251114.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSARS-CoV-2Live SARS-CoV-2Moderate SARS-CoV-2SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalenceWork-related risk factorsTransportation-related occupationsSerum IgG levelsAntigen-specific IgGIgG seropositivity rateBiomarkers of infectionSARS-CoV-2 spikeCOVID-19 exposureUS National Guard soldiersMilitary personnelIgG levelsSeropositivity rateHumoral responseSerum IgGViral exposureBlack raceRisk factorsOdds ratioStudy populationNational Guard soldiersDemographic dataKynurenic acid may underlie sex-specific immune responses to COVID-19
Cai Y, Kim DJ, Takahashi T, Broadhurst DI, Yan H, Ma S, Rattray NJW, Casanovas-Massana A, Israelow B, Klein J, Lucas C, Mao T, Moore AJ, Muenker MC, Oh JE, Silva J, Wong P, team Y, Ko AI, Khan SA, Iwasaki A, Johnson CH. Kynurenic acid may underlie sex-specific immune responses to COVID-19. Science Signaling 2021, 14: eabf8483. PMID: 34230210, PMCID: PMC8432948, DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.abf8483.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsKynurenic acidImmune responseClinical outcomesSex-specific immune responsesT cell responsesPoor clinical outcomeCOVID-19 patientsCoronavirus disease 2019COVID-19Sex-related differencesMale patientsCytokine abundanceInflammatory cytokinesKynurenine ratioSerum metabolomeDisease 2019Sex-specific linkKynurenine aminotransferaseCell responsesOld malePatientsMalesOutcomesResponseMetabolites