Vaccination with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine TURKOVAC induces durable humoral and cellular immune responses up to 8 months


YILMAZ S., EKEN A., SEZER Z., Bagci B. S., Erdem S., Sarikaya M. D., ...Daha Fazla

FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE, cilt.12, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 12
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1524393
  • Dergi Adı: FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, EMBASE, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: TURKOVAC, SARS-CoV-2, vaccine, memory response, humoral, cellular
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Background The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to a global health crisis, necessitating swift responses in medical science, mainly through vaccination strategies. While short-term vaccine effectiveness is evident, immune protection's long-term effects and duration remain incompletely understood. Systematic monitoring of these responses is essential for optimizing vaccination strategies.Aims This study aimed to explore the durability of antigen-specific T and B cell responses and antibody levels up to 8 months post-immunization with the inactivated TURKOVAC vaccine in volunteers. Additionally, the impact of two versus three doses of vaccination on these parameters was analyzed.Methods Volunteers (n = 80) received two or three doses of TURKOVAC. Spike-specific B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and antibody levels were measured at multiple time points post-immunization.Results Spike-specific B cells remained elevated up to 8 months post-immunization. SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells peaked at 4 months but declined thereafter. TURKOVAC resulted in durable antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune memory with distinct kinetics. Still, most assessments observed no significant differences between two and three doses, except for antigen specific-IL-2 and CD4+ LAMP1 responses.Conclusion TURKOVAC vaccination induces durable immune responses, with spike-specific B cells persisting up to 8 months and T cell responses peaking at 4 months before declining. These findings suggest that TURKOVAC contributes to long-term immune protection against SARS-CoV-2.