JCI Insight. 2022 Nov 08; 7(21):NA.

PubMed ID: 36136590

Lower SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral immunity in people living with HIV-1 recovered from nonhospitalized COVID-19

Schuster DJ, Karuna S, Brackett C, Wesley M, Li SS, Eisel N, Tenney D, Hilliard S, Yates NL, Heptinstall JR, Williams LD, Shen X, Rolfe R, Cabello R, Zhang L, Sawant S, Hu J, Randhawa AK, Hyrien O, Hural JA, Corey L, Frank I, Tomaras GD, Seaton KE, HVTN 405/HPTN 1901 Study Team

People living with HIV-1 (PLWH) exhibit more rapid antibody decline following routine immunization and elevated baseline chronic inflammation than people without HIV-1 (PWOH), indicating potential for diminished humoral immunity during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conflicting reports have emerged on the ability of PLWH to maintain humoral protection against SARS-CoV-2 coinfection during convalescence. It is unknown whether peak COVID-19 severity, along with HIV-1 infection status, associates with the quality and quantity of humoral immunity following recovery. Using a cross-sectional observational cohort from the United States and Peru, adults were enrolled 1-10 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis or symptom resolution. Serum antibodies were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2-specific response rates, binding magnitudes, ACE2 receptor blocking, and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis. Overall, (a) PLWH exhibited a trend toward decreased magnitude of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, despite modestly increased overall response rates when compared with PWOH; (b) PLWH recovered from symptomatic outpatient COVID-19 had comparatively diminished immune responses; and (c) PLWH lacked a corresponding increase in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with increased COVID-19 severity when asymptomatic versus symptomatic outpatient disease was compared.