PMID- 35094050
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20221010
LR  - 20221207
IS  - 1462-0332 (Electronic)
IS  - 1462-0324 (Print)
IS  - 1462-0324 (Linking)
VI  - 61
IP  - 10
DP  - 2022 Oct 6
TI  - Humoral immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with inflammatory 
      rheumatic diseases under treatment with Rituximab: a case-control study 
      (COVID-19VacRTX).
PG  - 3912-3918
LID - 10.1093/rheumatology/keac036 [doi]
LID - keac036
AB  - OBJECTIVES: Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs) treated with the 
      anti-CD20 mAb rituximab (RTX) have been identified as high-risk for severe 
      COVID-19 outcomes. Additionally, there is increased risk due to reduced humoral 
      immune response, induced by therapeutic B cell depletion. This study sought to 
      quantify humoral response after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with 
      IRD treated with RTX. It also sought to elucidate the influence of the time frame 
      between the last RTX dose and the first vaccination, or the status of B cell 
      depletion on antibody titre. METHODS: In this case-control study, patients with 
      IRDs previously treated with RTX were examined for humoral immune response after 
      completing the first series of vaccinations with approved vaccines [BNT162b2 
      (Biontech/Pfizer), RNA-1273 (Moderna), AZD1222 (AstraZeneca/Oxford), Ad26.COV2.S 
      (Janssen/Johnson & Johnson)]. Antibody levels were quantified using the Euroimmun 
      Anti-SARS-CoV-2 QuantiVac ELISA (EI-S1-IgG-quant). Blood samples were taken just 
      before the next infusion with RTX after the vaccination. The interval between the 
      last RTX infusion and the first vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 and other possible 
      factors influencing the antibody levels were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 102 
      patients were included. Of these, 65 (64%) showed a negative antibody level 
      (<24 IU (international unit)/ml) after the vaccination. The comparative 
      univariate analysis of the antibody levels achieved a significant result 
      (P = 0.0008) for the time between the last RTX infusion and first vaccination 
      against SARS-CoV-2. No CD19+ peripheral B-cells could be detected in 73 of the 
      patients (72%). CONCLUSION: The study confirms the negative impact of RTX on 
      antibody level after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. A clear relationship exists 
      between the antibody titre and the interval between the last RTX infusion and the 
      first vaccination, the number of peripheral B-cells, and immunoglobulin quantity. 
      Improved understanding of the effect of these parameters can help guide 
      synchronization of vaccination in relation to the RTX therapy regimen.
CI  - (c) The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the 
      British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please 
      email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
FAU - Schumacher, Falk
AU  - Schumacher F
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9936-0089
AD  - Department of Rheumatology, Krankenhaus Porz am Rhein, Cologne.
AD  - Faculty of Health/School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten.
FAU - Mrdenovic, Nikola
AU  - Mrdenovic N
AD  - Department of Rheumatology, Krankenhaus Porz am Rhein, Cologne.
FAU - Scheicht, Dennis
AU  - Scheicht D
AD  - Department of Rheumatology, Krankenhaus Porz am Rhein, Cologne.
FAU - Pons-Kuhnemann, Jorn
AU  - Pons-Kuhnemann J
AD  - Medical Statistics, Institute of Medical Informatics, Justus Liebig University, 
      Giessen, Germany.
FAU - Scheibelhut, Christine
AU  - Scheibelhut C
AD  - Medical Statistics, Institute of Medical Informatics, Justus Liebig University, 
      Giessen, Germany.
FAU - Strunk, Johannes
AU  - Strunk J
AD  - Department of Rheumatology, Krankenhaus Porz am Rhein, Cologne.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - England
TA  - Rheumatology (Oxford)
JT  - Rheumatology (Oxford, England)
JID - 100883501
RN  - JT2NS6183B (Ad26COVS1)
RN  - 0 (COVID-19 Vaccines)
RN  - 0 (Immunoglobulin G)
RN  - 4F4X42SYQ6 (Rituximab)
RN  - 63231-63-0 (RNA)
RN  - B5S3K2V0G8 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19)
RN  - N38TVC63NU (BNT162 Vaccine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Ad26COVS1
MH  - BNT162 Vaccine
MH  - *COVID-19/prevention & control
MH  - COVID-19 Vaccines
MH  - Case-Control Studies
MH  - ChAdOx1 nCoV-19
MH  - Humans
MH  - Immunoglobulin G
MH  - RNA
MH  - *Rheumatic Diseases/chemically induced/drug therapy
MH  - Rituximab/therapeutic use
MH  - SARS-CoV-2
MH  - Vaccination
PMC - PMC8807328
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - ANCA-associated vasculitis
OT  - COVID-19
OT  - RA
OT  - antibody
OT  - immunogenicity
OT  - rituximab
OT  - vaccination
EDAT- 2022/01/31 06:00
MHDA- 2022/10/12 06:00
PMCR- 2022/01/30
CRDT- 2022/01/30 20:37
PHST- 2021/10/26 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2022/01/06 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2022/01/31 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/10/12 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2022/01/30 20:37 [entrez]
PHST- 2022/01/30 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 6517501 [pii]
AID - keac036 [pii]
AID - 10.1093/rheumatology/keac036 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022 Oct 6;61(10):3912-3918. doi: 
      10.1093/rheumatology/keac036.