Mass spectrometry-based analysis on the impact of whole blood donation on the global plasma proteome

BACKGROUND

Biomonitoring may provide important insights into the impact of a whole blood donation for individual blood donors.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Here, we used unbiased mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics to assess longitudinal changes in the global plasma proteome, after a single blood donation for new and regular donors. Subsequently, we compared plasma proteomes of 76 male and female whole blood donors, that were grouped based on their ferritin and hemoglobin (Hb) levels.

RESULTS

The longitudinal analysis showed limited changes in the plasma proteomes of new and regular donors after a whole blood donation during a 180-day follow-up period, apart from a significant short-term decrease in fibronectin. No differences were observed in the plasma proteomes of donors with high versus low Hb and/or ferritin levels. Plasma proteins with the highest variation between and within donors included pregnancy zone protein, which was associated with sex, Alfa 1-antitrypsin which was associated with the allelic variation, and Immunoglobulin D. Coexpression analysis revealed clustering of proteins that are associated with platelet, red cell, and neutrophil signatures as well as with the complement system and immune responses, including a prominent correlating cluster of immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin J chain (JCHAIN), and CD5 antigen-like (CD5L).

DISCUSSION

Overall, our proteomic approach shows that whole blood donation has a limited impact on the plasma proteins measured. Our findings suggest that plasma profiling can be successfully employed to consistently detect proteins and protein complexes that reflect the functionality and integrity of platelets, red blood cells, and immune cells in blood donors and thus highlights its potential use for donor health monitoring.

Immune dynamics in SARS-CoV-2 experienced immunosuppressed rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis patients vaccinated with mRNA-1273

Background

Patients affected by different types of autoimmune diseases, including common conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), are often treated with immunosuppressants to suppress disease activity. It is not fully understood how the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific humoral and cellular immunity induced by infection and/or upon vaccination is affected by immunosuppressants.

Methods

The dynamics of cellular immune reactivation upon vaccination of SARS-CoV-2 experienced MS patients treated with the humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody ocrelizumab (OCR) and RA patients treated with methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy were analyzed at great depth via high-dimensional flow cytometry of whole blood samples upon vaccination with the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine. Longitudinal B and T cell immune responses were compared to SARS-CoV-2 experienced healthy controls (HCs) before and 7 days after the first and second vaccination.

Results

OCR-treated MS patients exhibit a preserved recall response of CD8+ T central memory cells following first vaccination compared to HCs and a similar CD4+ circulating T follicular helper 1 and T helper 1 dynamics, whereas humoral and B cell responses were strongly impaired resulting in absence of SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral immunity. MTX treatment significantly delayed antibody levels and B reactivation following the first vaccination, including sustained inhibition of overall reactivation marker dynamics of the responding CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.

Conclusions

Together, these findings indicate that SARS-CoV-2 experienced MS-OCR patients may still benefit from vaccination by inducing a broad CD8+ T cell response which has been associated with milder disease outcome. The delayed vaccine-induced IgG kinetics in RA-MTX patients indicate an increased risk after the first vaccination, which might require additional shielding or alternative strategies such as treatment interruptions in vulnerable patients.

Funding

This research project was supported by ZonMw (The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, #10430072010007), the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement (#792532 and #860003), the European Commission (SUPPORT-E, #101015756) and by PPOC (#20_21 L2506), the NHMRC Leadership Investigator Grant (#1173871).