Abstract
The Induction of De Novo Autoimmune Biomarkers Production in Healthcare Professionals Vaccinated with BNT162b2
Maria Cristina Sacchi*, Stefania Tamiazzo, Marinella Bertolotti, Daniela Ferrante, Tatiana Bolgeo, Carolina Pelazza, Daniele Ielo, Lisa Agatea, Piera De Gaspari, Maria Matilde Ciriello and Antonio Maconi
Corresponding Author: Maria Cristina Sacchi, Autoimmunology and Analysis Laboratory Unit, “SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo” Hospital, Via venezia 16, 15121, Alessandria, Italy.
Revised: October 13, 2021; Available Online: October 13, 2021
Citation: Sacchi MC, Tamiazzo S, Bertolotti M, Ferrante D, Bolgeo T, et al. (2021) The Induction of De Novo Autoimmune Biomarkers Production in Healthcare Professionals Vaccinated with BNT162b2. J Infect Dis Res, 4(S2): 10.
Copyrights: ©2021 Sacchi MC, Tamiazzo S, Bertolotti M, Ferrante D, Bolgeo T, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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IntroductionThe vaccine BNT162b2 was the first one to be approved and the first mRNA based vaccine ever. Some vaccines are known to induce autoinflammatory mechanisms, most of those are mild and transient and only a minor part is pathogenic. To date, the literature has reported the existence of a link between autoimmunity and COVID 19. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether subjects vaccinated with BNT162b2, initially negative to autoimmune biomarkers, will show at 3 months after the seco nd dose of vaccine, a de novo production of autoantibodies.

MethodsBlood samples of 155 healthcare professionals (HCPs) of our hospital (114 females and 41 males, age range 20 66 years, median age 46) vaccinated with COVID 19 mRNA BNT162b2 (Pfizer) were collected before (T0) and 3 months after the administration of the two doses of the vaccine (T1). All samples were analyzed for the presence of a) antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti smooth muscle antibodies (ASMA) (Indirect Immunofluorescence [IIF], Eur oimmun); b) anti myeloperoxidase (anti MPO), anti proteinase 3 (anti PR3) and anti citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti CCP) ([ FEIA], Thermo Fisher Scientific); c) anti phospholipid antibodies (anticardiolipin [aCL], anti beta 2 glycoprotein I [anti ß 2 GPI] (Chemiluminescence, Werfen). Clinical data were collected using the REDCap software (REDCap version 10.2.3©2020 Vanderbilt University).

ResultsFifty (32,3%) out of 155 HCPs, presented ANA and 15 (9,7%) ASMA at T0. In contrast at T1, 53/137 HCPs, were positive for ANA (38,7%) and 21 (15,3%) for ASMA at T1. Most importantly, 9 HCPs that were negative at T0 for ANA and 10 negatives for ASMA, display a newly generated positivity at T1. Nine HCPs had high positive levels of ß 2GPI IgG and aCL at all time points and the values did not significantly change after vaccination.

ConclusionsOur preliminary results regarding the BNT162b2 vaccine effects on the development of potential autoimmune events in healthy individuals revealed an induction of autoinflammatory mechanisms in a small percentage of HCPs, developing a de novo autoantibodies production after vaccination.

Keywords: Vaccine, Autoimmunity, Autoimmune biomarkers, Covid 19