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Can the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine stimulate the appearance of de novo autoimmune biomarkers?

MC Sacchi1*, P Stobbione2, M Bertolotti3, G Chichino4, L Agatea5, P De Gaspari5, A Stecca5, S Tamiazzo1

1Autoimmunology and Analysis Laboratory Unit, “SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo” Hospital, Alessandria, Italy

2Rheumatology Unit, “SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo” Hospital, Alessandria, Italy

3IRFI (Infrastruttura Ricerca Formazione Innovazione) “SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo” Hospital, Alessandria, Italy

4Infectious Disease Unit, “SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo” Hospital, Alessandria, Ital

5 Laboratory department, Affiliated to Euroimmun, Padova, Italy

*MC Sacchi: corresponding author (csacchi@ospedale.al.it)

SARS-CoV-2 infection is the most serious pandemic emergency, due both to the lack of specific therapies and to the strong virulence of its pathogen. Since the early stages of the pandemic, the scientific community has focused on: virus mechanisms, possible therapies and the design of vaccines, to combat the spread of the contagion. Vaccines can be followed by adverse events and can also cause transient or permanent autoimmune diseases. The development of these pathologies is complex and depends on the combination of multiple factors. It has been documented that some vaccines are followed by the appearance of mostly mild and transient autoimmune manifestations, while only a small part are serious and permanent. In the literature there are reports of a link between autoimmunity and Covid-19, also confirmed by our study (epub ahead). On the basis of these results, it was considered important to evaluate the autoimmune profile of our hospital’s health workers, who will be vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2.

The objective of our study is: a) to evaluate whether the patients who receive the vaccine, and who are initially negative to autoimmune biomarkers, will present immunological changes with the de novo development of autoantibodies, during the follow-up (3-6 months); b) to observe if subjects who were already positive for autoantibodies before vaccination will increase their initial rate after administration; and c) to assess whether there is a significant difference, in terms of presence and type of autoantibodies, between patients who did and those who did not have a positive nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2.

References:

M.C. Sacchi, S. Tamiazzo, P. Stobbione, L. Agatea, P. De Gaspari, A. Stecca, EC. Lauritano, A. Roveta, R. Tozzoli, R. Guaschino, R. Bonometti,, SARS-CoV-2 infection as a trigger of autoimmune disease, Clinical and translational Science, epub ahead.