ArticleRMD open2024
Methotrexate treatment hampers induction of vaccine-specific CD4 T cell responses in patients with IMID.
Article in RMD open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Beyond the Prevention of Anti-drug Antibody Formation with Uricase Therapy: Mechanistic Roles of DMARDs in Modifying Gout Flare Risk.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2026Review
- Heterogeneous Activated B Cell Compartments Arising Early and Transiently After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination.European journal of immunology · 2026Article
- Rapid on-off effects of methotrexate on lymphocytes may facilitate recovery of suppressed vaccine immunogenicity after its short-term methotrexate discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination Leads to Transient Humoral and B Cell Bystander Responses in Adults.European journal of immunology · 2026Article
- TNF inhibitors affect the induction and maintenance of spike-specific B-cell responses after mRNA vaccination.RMD open · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
31 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesMethotrexate (MTX) is one of the most commonly used medications to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the effect of MTX treatment on cellular immune responses remains incompletely understood. This raises concerns about the vulnerability of these patients to emerging infections and following vaccination.
methodsIn the current study, we investigated the impact of MTX treatment in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disease on B and CD4 T cell SARS-CoV-2 vaccination responses. Eighteen patients with RA and two patients with psoriatic arthritis on MTX monotherapy were included, as well as 10 patients with RA without immunosuppressive treatment, and 29 healthy controls. CD4 T and B cell responses were analysed 7 days and 3-6 months after two SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA vaccinations. High-dimensional flow cytometry analysis was used to analyse fresh whole blood, an activation-induced marker assay to measure antigen-specific CD4 T cells, and spike probes to study antigen-specific B cells.
resultsSeven days following two SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations, total B and T cell counts were similar between MTX-treated patients and controls. In addition, spike-specific B cell frequencies were unaffected. Remarkably, the frequency of antigen-specific CD4 T cells was reduced in patients using MTX and correlated strongly with anti-RBD IgG antibodies. These results suggest that decreased CD4 T cell activity may result in slower vaccination antibody responses in MTX-treated patients.
conclusionTaken together, MTX treatment reduces vaccine-induced CD4 T cell activation, which correlates with lower antibody responses. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NL8900.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.