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Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines are detectable in saliva

Thomas J. Ketas, Devidas Chaturbhuj, Victor M Cruz-Portillo, Erik Francomano, Encouse Golden, Sharanya Chandrasekhar, Gargi Debnath, Randy Diaz-Tapia, Anila Yasmeen, Wilhem Leconet, Zhen Zhao, Philip J.M. Brouwer, Melissa M. Cushing, Rogier W. Sanders, Albert Cupo, P. J. Klasse, Silvia C. Formenti, John P. Moore
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.11.434841
Thomas J. Ketas
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Devidas Chaturbhuj
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Victor M Cruz-Portillo
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Erik Francomano
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Encouse Golden
2Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Sharanya Chandrasekhar
2Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Gargi Debnath
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Randy Diaz-Tapia
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Anila Yasmeen
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Wilhem Leconet
3Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Zhen Zhao
4Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Philip J.M. Brouwer
5Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Melissa M. Cushing
4Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Rogier W. Sanders
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
5Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Albert Cupo
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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P. J. Klasse
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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Silvia C. Formenti
2Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
6Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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John P. Moore
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065
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  • For correspondence: jpm2003@med.cornell.edu
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Abstract

Vaccines are critical for curtailing the COVID-19 pandemic (1, 2). In the USA, two highly protective mRNA vaccines are available: BNT162b2 from Pfizer/BioNTech and mRNA-1273 from Moderna (3, 4). These vaccines induce antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 S-protein, including neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) predominantly directed against the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) (1-4). Serum NAbs are induced at modest levels within ∼1 week of the first dose, but their titers are strongly boosted by a second dose at 3 (BNT162b2) or 4 weeks (mRNA-1273) (3, 4). SARS-CoV-2 is most commonly transmitted nasally or orally and infects cells in the mucosae of the respiratory and to some extent also the gastrointestinal tract (5). Although serum NAbs may be a correlate of protection against COVID-19, mucosal antibodies might directly prevent or limit virus acquisition by the nasal, oral and conjunctival routes (5). Whether the mRNA vaccines induce mucosal immunity has not been studied. Here, we report that antibodies to the S-protein and its RBD are present in saliva samples from mRNA-vaccinated healthcare workers (HCW). Within 1-2 weeks after their second dose, 37/37 and 8/8 recipients of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, respectively, had S-protein IgG antibodies in their saliva, while IgA was detected in a substantial proportion. These observations may be relevant to vaccine-mediated protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted March 11, 2021.
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Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines are detectable in saliva
Thomas J. Ketas, Devidas Chaturbhuj, Victor M Cruz-Portillo, Erik Francomano, Encouse Golden, Sharanya Chandrasekhar, Gargi Debnath, Randy Diaz-Tapia, Anila Yasmeen, Wilhem Leconet, Zhen Zhao, Philip J.M. Brouwer, Melissa M. Cushing, Rogier W. Sanders, Albert Cupo, P. J. Klasse, Silvia C. Formenti, John P. Moore
bioRxiv 2021.03.11.434841; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.11.434841
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Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines are detectable in saliva
Thomas J. Ketas, Devidas Chaturbhuj, Victor M Cruz-Portillo, Erik Francomano, Encouse Golden, Sharanya Chandrasekhar, Gargi Debnath, Randy Diaz-Tapia, Anila Yasmeen, Wilhem Leconet, Zhen Zhao, Philip J.M. Brouwer, Melissa M. Cushing, Rogier W. Sanders, Albert Cupo, P. J. Klasse, Silvia C. Formenti, John P. Moore
bioRxiv 2021.03.11.434841; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.11.434841

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