Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization associates with impaired adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.

Elena Mitsi; Jesus Reine Gutierrez; Britta Urban; Carla Solórzano; Elissavet Nikolaou; Angela D. Hyder-Wright; Sherin Pojar; Ashleigh Howard; Lisa Hitchins; Sharon Glynn; Madi Farrar; Kostas Liatsikos; Andrea Collins; Naomi Walker; Helen Hill; Esther German; Katerina Cheliotis; Rachel Byrne; Chris Williams; Ana I. Cubas-Atienzar; Tom Fletcher; Emily Adams; Simon J. Draper; David Pulido; Rohini Beavon; Christian Theilacker; Elizabeth Begier; Luis Jodar; Bradford D. Gessner; Daniela Ferreira

doi:10.1172/jci157124

Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization associates with impaired adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.

Elena Mitsi, Jesus Reine Gutierrez, Britta Urban, Carla Solórzano, Elissavet Nikolaou, Angela D. Hyder-Wright, Sherin Pojar, Ashleigh Howard, Lisa Hitchins, Sharon Glynn, Madi Farrar, Kostas Liatsikos, Andrea Collins, Naomi Walker, Helen Hill, Esther German, Katerina Cheliotis, Rachel Byrne, Chris Williams, Ana I. Cubas-AtienzarTom Fletcher, Emily Adams, Simon J. Draper, David Pulido, Rohini Beavon, Christian Theilacker, Elizabeth Begier, Luis Jodar, Bradford D. Gessner, Daniela Ferreira

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Although recent epidemiological data suggest that pneumococci may contribute to the risk of SARS-CoV-2 disease, cases of co-infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae in COVID-19 patients during hospitalisation have been reported infrequently. This apparent contradiction may be explained by interactions of SARS-CoV-2 and pneumococcus in the upper airway, resulting in the escape of SARS-CoV-2 from protective host immune responses.

METHODS

Here, we investigated the relationship of these two respiratory pathogens in two distinct cohorts of a) healthcare workers with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection identified by systematic screening and b) patients with moderate to severe disease who presented to hospital. We assessed the effect of co-infection on host antibody, cellular and inflammatory responses to the virus.

RESULTS

In both cohorts, pneumococcal colonisation was associated with diminished anti-viral immune responses, which affected primarily mucosal IgA levels among individuals with mild or asymptomatic infection and cellular memory responses in infected patients.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that S. pneumoniae impairs host immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and raises the question if pneumococcal carriage also enables immune escape of other respiratory viruses and facilitates reinfection occurrence.

TRIALS REGISTRATION

ISRCTN89159899 for FASTER study and Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03502291 for LAIV study.

Original language	English
Article number	e157124
Pages (from-to)	e157124
Journal	Journal of Clinical Investigation
Volume	132
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1172/jci157124
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2022

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10.1172/jci157124Licence: CC BY

JClinInvest 2022 Mitsi etalFinal published version, 1.56 MBLicence: CC BY

Identifying Novel Pneumococcal Pneumonia Vaccine Candidates
Cheliotis, K. (Author), Ferreira, D. (Supervisor), Urban, B. (Supervisor), Solorzano Gonzalez, C. (Supervisor) & Jewell, C. (Supervisor), 2022
Student thesis: Doctoral thesis

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Mitsi, E., Reine Gutierrez, J., Urban, B., Solórzano, C., Nikolaou, E., Hyder-Wright, A. D., Pojar, S., Howard, A., Hitchins, L., Glynn, S., Farrar, M., Liatsikos, K., Collins, A., Walker, N., Hill, H., German, E., Cheliotis, K., Byrne, R., Williams, C., ... Ferreira, D. (2022). Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization associates with impaired adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 132(7), e157124. Article e157124. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci157124

@article{0dbba0d10d69461caee7b71f4ba460a0,

title = "Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization associates with impaired adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.",

abstract = "BACKGROUNDAlthough recent epidemiological data suggest that pneumococci may contribute to the risk of SARS-CoV-2 disease, cases of co-infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae in COVID-19 patients during hospitalisation have been reported infrequently. This apparent contradiction may be explained by interactions of SARS-CoV-2 and pneumococcus in the upper airway, resulting in the escape of SARS-CoV-2 from protective host immune responses.METHODSHere, we investigated the relationship of these two respiratory pathogens in two distinct cohorts of a) healthcare workers with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection identified by systematic screening and b) patients with moderate to severe disease who presented to hospital. We assessed the effect of co-infection on host antibody, cellular and inflammatory responses to the virus.RESULTSIn both cohorts, pneumococcal colonisation was associated with diminished anti-viral immune responses, which affected primarily mucosal IgA levels among individuals with mild or asymptomatic infection and cellular memory responses in infected patients.CONCLUSIONOur findings suggest that S. pneumoniae impairs host immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and raises the question if pneumococcal carriage also enables immune escape of other respiratory viruses and facilitates reinfection occurrence.TRIALS REGISTRATIONISRCTN89159899 for FASTER study and Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03502291 for LAIV study.",

author = "Elena Mitsi and \{Reine Gutierrez\}, Jesus and Britta Urban and Carla Sol{\'o}rzano and Elissavet Nikolaou and Hyder-Wright, \{Angela D.\} and Sherin Pojar and Ashleigh Howard and Lisa Hitchins and Sharon Glynn and Madi Farrar and Kostas Liatsikos and Andrea Collins and Naomi Walker and Helen Hill and Esther German and Katerina Cheliotis and Rachel Byrne and Chris Williams and Cubas-Atienzar, \{Ana I.\} and Tom Fletcher and Emily Adams and Draper, \{Simon J.\} and David Pulido and Rohini Beavon and Christian Theilacker and Elizabeth Begier and Luis Jodar and Gessner, \{Bradford D.\} and Daniela Ferreira",

year = "2022",

month = apr,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1172/jci157124",

language = "English",

volume = "132",

pages = "e157124",

journal = "Journal of Clinical Investigation",

issn = "0021-9738",

publisher = "American Society for Clinical Investigation",

number = "7",

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Mitsi, E, Reine Gutierrez, J, Urban, B, Solórzano, C, Nikolaou, E, Hyder-Wright, AD, Pojar, S, Howard, A, Hitchins, L, Glynn, S, Farrar, M , Liatsikos, K , Collins, A , Walker, N, Hill, H, German, E, Cheliotis, K, Byrne, R , Williams, C , Cubas-Atienzar, AI , Fletcher, T, Adams, E, Draper, SJ, Pulido, D, Beavon, R, Theilacker, C, Begier, E, Jodar, L, Gessner, BD & Ferreira, D 2022, 'Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization associates with impaired adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.', Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 132, no. 7, e157124, pp. e157124. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci157124

TY - JOUR

T1 - Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization associates with impaired adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.

AU - Mitsi, Elena

AU - Reine Gutierrez, Jesus

AU - Urban, Britta

AU - Solórzano, Carla

AU - Nikolaou, Elissavet

AU - Hyder-Wright, Angela D.

AU - Pojar, Sherin

AU - Howard, Ashleigh

AU - Hitchins, Lisa

AU - Glynn, Sharon

AU - Farrar, Madi

AU - Liatsikos, Kostas

AU - Collins, Andrea

AU - Walker, Naomi

AU - Hill, Helen

AU - German, Esther

AU - Cheliotis, Katerina

AU - Byrne, Rachel

AU - Williams, Chris

AU - Cubas-Atienzar, Ana I.

AU - Fletcher, Tom

AU - Adams, Emily

AU - Draper, Simon J.

AU - Pulido, David

AU - Beavon, Rohini

AU - Theilacker, Christian

AU - Begier, Elizabeth

AU - Jodar, Luis

AU - Gessner, Bradford D.

AU - Ferreira, Daniela

PY - 2022/4/1

Y1 - 2022/4/1

N2 - BACKGROUNDAlthough recent epidemiological data suggest that pneumococci may contribute to the risk of SARS-CoV-2 disease, cases of co-infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae in COVID-19 patients during hospitalisation have been reported infrequently. This apparent contradiction may be explained by interactions of SARS-CoV-2 and pneumococcus in the upper airway, resulting in the escape of SARS-CoV-2 from protective host immune responses.METHODSHere, we investigated the relationship of these two respiratory pathogens in two distinct cohorts of a) healthcare workers with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection identified by systematic screening and b) patients with moderate to severe disease who presented to hospital. We assessed the effect of co-infection on host antibody, cellular and inflammatory responses to the virus.RESULTSIn both cohorts, pneumococcal colonisation was associated with diminished anti-viral immune responses, which affected primarily mucosal IgA levels among individuals with mild or asymptomatic infection and cellular memory responses in infected patients.CONCLUSIONOur findings suggest that S. pneumoniae impairs host immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and raises the question if pneumococcal carriage also enables immune escape of other respiratory viruses and facilitates reinfection occurrence.TRIALS REGISTRATIONISRCTN89159899 for FASTER study and Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03502291 for LAIV study.

AB - BACKGROUNDAlthough recent epidemiological data suggest that pneumococci may contribute to the risk of SARS-CoV-2 disease, cases of co-infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae in COVID-19 patients during hospitalisation have been reported infrequently. This apparent contradiction may be explained by interactions of SARS-CoV-2 and pneumococcus in the upper airway, resulting in the escape of SARS-CoV-2 from protective host immune responses.METHODSHere, we investigated the relationship of these two respiratory pathogens in two distinct cohorts of a) healthcare workers with asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection identified by systematic screening and b) patients with moderate to severe disease who presented to hospital. We assessed the effect of co-infection on host antibody, cellular and inflammatory responses to the virus.RESULTSIn both cohorts, pneumococcal colonisation was associated with diminished anti-viral immune responses, which affected primarily mucosal IgA levels among individuals with mild or asymptomatic infection and cellular memory responses in infected patients.CONCLUSIONOur findings suggest that S. pneumoniae impairs host immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and raises the question if pneumococcal carriage also enables immune escape of other respiratory viruses and facilitates reinfection occurrence.TRIALS REGISTRATIONISRCTN89159899 for FASTER study and Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03502291 for LAIV study.

U2 - 10.1172/jci157124

DO - 10.1172/jci157124

M3 - Article

SN - 0021-9738

VL - 132

SP - e157124

JO - Journal of Clinical Investigation

JF - Journal of Clinical Investigation

IS - 7

M1 - e157124

ER -

Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization associates with impaired adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.

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Identifying Novel Pneumococcal Pneumonia Vaccine Candidates

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