COVID-19 antibody responses in immunocompromised patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
SARS CoV-2 antibody responses in immunocompromised patients
IRAS ID
284387
Contact name
Rachel Jones
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & the University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
COVID-19 is an international health emergency. There is an urgent unmet need for research which focuses on vulnerable patient groups. Individuals may be vulnerable due to their underlying disease which leads to significant organ damage (for example renal failure, or structural lung damage) or as a consequence of treatments for an underlying condition (immune suppressing medications for those with a transplant, or autoimmune conditions such as vasculitis or systemic lupus erythematosus; or dialysis for individuals with end stage kidney disease). Those individuals who require renal replacement therapy in the form of in centre haemodialysis are particularly at risk; not only are they immunosuppressed as a result of renal failure, but they are obliged to make thrice weekly trips to hospital for life sustaining treatment.
Immunosuppressed patients are currently advised to shield within their homes, whilst efforts are underway to develop a vaccine. This prospect of a widely available vaccine, or the development of herd immunity to offer these vulnerable individuals protection is many months away. However, immunosuppressed patients; either receiving dialysis, or monitoring for renal transplantation or autoimmune disease, require frequent hospital attendances for their ongoing health care thus increasing their vulnerability to COVID-19 infection.
Assays to measure antibodies to Sars CoV-2 are being developed by a number of groups. However, it is vital to understand antibody responses in immunosuppressed populations, both in terms of the magnitude of the response, durability and whether antibody titres correlate with protection against future infection. Studying the renal cohort offers the opportunity to evaluate the effect of various immune suppressing strategies (more B cell targeted approaches in autoimmune disease, or T cell targeted therapies in transplant recipients) in a longitudinal manner, with high quality clinical data key to accurate interpretation of the serological tests.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/EM/0180
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion