Title | CD4(+) T Cells of Prostate Cancer Patients Have Decreased Immune Responses to Antigens Derived From SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein. | ||
Author | Taborska, Pavla; Strizova, Zuzana; Stakheev, Dmitry; Sojka, Ludek; Bartunkova, Jirina; Smrz, Daniel | ||
Journal | Front Immunol | Publication Year/Month | 2021 |
PMID | 34012431 | PMCID | PMC8128251 |
Affiliation + expend | 1.Department of Immunology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and University Hospital Motol, Prague, Czechia. |
The adaptive immune response to severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is important for vaccine development and in the recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Men and cancer patients have been reported to be at higher risks of contracting the virus and developing the more severe forms of COVID-19. Prostate cancer (PCa) may be associated with both of these risks. We show that CD4(+) T cells of SARS-CoV-2-unexposed patients with hormone-refractory (HR) metastatic PCa had decreased CD4(+) T cell immune responses to antigens from SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein but not from the spiked glycoprotein of the \'common cold\'-associated human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) as compared with healthy male volunteers who responded comparably to both HCoV-229E- and SARS-CoV-2-derived antigens. Moreover, the HCoV-229E spike glycoprotein antigen-elicited CD4(+) T cell immune responses cross-reacted with the SARS-CoV-2 spiked glycoprotein antigens. PCa patients may have impaired responses to the vaccination, and the cross-reactivity can mediate antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of COVID-19. These findings highlight the potential for increased vulnerability of PCa patients to COVID-19.