ArticleArthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)2022
Rituximab Impairs B Cell Response But Not T Cell Response to COVID-19 Vaccine in Autoimmune Diseases.
Article in Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers.
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Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of a fourth dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases using disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: an emulated target trial.The Lancet. Rheumatology · 2024Trial
- Diagnostic Pitfall: Prolonged COVID-19 Presenting as Organising Pneumonia in a Rituximab-Treated Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2026Article
- Article
- Case-Based Immunology: B Cells and Systemic Sclerosis Interstitial Lung Disease.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Risk of developing thyroid eye disease in patients with thyroid dysfunction that received a COVID-19 vaccination.Canadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie · 2026Article
- B cells in anti-tRNA synthetase syndrome patients show an activated, interferon-responsive signature.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Intrahost viral evolution of SARS-CoV-2 infections in rheumatic versus hematological patients with severe iatrogenic immunosuppression.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Vaccination Update and Specific Concerns for RA.Current rheumatology reports · 2025Review
- Review
- The T-cell response to SARS-CoV- 2 vaccination persists beyond six months in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with rituximab.Arthritis research & therapy · 2025Observational
- Risk of Severe COVID-19 in Four Immunocompromised Populations: A French Expert Perspective.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2025Review
- The Impact of Vaccination Frequency on COVID-19 Public Health Outcomes: A Model-Based Analysis.Vaccines · 2025Article
- Review
- Beyond interferon gamma - decreased cellular response to COVID-19 vaccination booster in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Article
- COVID-19 Vaccination Before Initiating Rituximab Treatment Induces Strong Serological Response in Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease, Reducing Post-Pandemic Concerns About the Impact of Rituximab.ACR open rheumatology · 2024Article
- Harnessing immunity: Immunomodulatory therapies in COVID-19.World journal of virology · 2024Review
- Factors associated with immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in individuals with autoimmune diseases.JCI insight · 2024Observational
- Drugs Targeting CD20 in Multiple Sclerosis: Pharmacology, Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability.Drugs · 2024Review
- Sustained cell-mediated but not humoral responses in rituximab-treated rheumatic patients after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAntibody response to the messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be diminished in rituximab (RTX)-treated patients. We undertook this study to compare humoral and T cell responses between healthy controls, patients with autoimmune diseases treated with RTX, and those treated with other immunosuppressants, all of whom had been vaccinated with 2 doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
methodsWe performed anti-spike IgG and neutralization assays just before and 28 days after the second BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine dose. The specific T cell response was assessed in activated CD4 and CD8 T cells using intracellular flow cytometry staining of cytokines (interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor, and interleukin-2) after stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 spike peptide pools.
resultsA lower proportion of responders with neutralizing antibodies to the vaccine was observed in the RTX group (29%; n = 24) compared to the other immunosuppressants group (80%; n = 35) (P = 0.0001) and the healthy control group (92%; n = 26) (P < 0.0001). No patients treated with RTX in the last 6 months showed a response. Time since last infusion was the main factor influencing humoral response in RTX-treated patients. The functional CD4 and CD8 cellular responses to SARS-CoV-2 peptides for each single cytokine or polyfunctionality were not different in the RTX group compared to the other immunosuppressants group or the control group. In RTX-treated patients, the T cell response was not different between patients with and those without a humoral response.
conclusionRTX induced a diminished antibody response to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, but the functional T cell response was not altered compared to healthy controls and autoimmune disease patients treated with other immunosuppressants. Further work is needed to assess the clinical protection granted by a functionally active T cell response in the absence of an anti-spike antibody response.
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