Peripheral rotavirus-specific T-cell responses following monovalent oral rotavirus vaccine in infants

Nicols A.R.; Lee Y.; Congrave-Wilson Z.; Kim M.; Cheng W.A.; Jumarang J.; Navarro J.; Navarro R.; Rodriguez-Angeles Y.; Durand D.; Taylor Z.W.; De León R.G.; Ochoa T.J.; Sette A.; da Silva Antunes R.; Pannaraj P.S. · npj Vaccines (2026) · DOI: 10.1038/s41541-026-01405-z

Resumen

Despite evidence of varying vaccine effectiveness, T cell responses to rotavirus (RV) vaccines remain incompletely studied. To address this research gap, RV-specific T cells in the blood of infants pre- and post-monovalent RV vaccination (RV1) were analyzed for memory recall and functionality using RV-specific peptide pool stimulation. We find that RV vaccine elicits heterogenous responses with respect to cellular and humoral immunity. T cell responses to RV vaccine are detectable in the periphery, though poorly functional. Vaccination induces Th2-biased conventional effector memory and central memory CD4 + T cells, as suggested by chemokine receptor profiles, though the response wanes by 8 months post vaccination. The presence of preexisting immunity results in no significant increase in either RV-specific IgA or T cells after vaccination. Our data provides the first in-depth assessment of RV-specific T cell responses induced by vaccine, demonstrating patterns of negative and positive association with response that may play a role in protection against rotavirus disease. © The Author(s) 2026.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia