# COVID-19 vaccine serologic immune response in people with HIV

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2021 · $751,032

## Abstract

TITLE: COVID-19 vaccine serologic immune response in people with HIV
ABSTRACT
MWCCS participants are a high-risk group for severe COVID-19 disease in terms of being HIV-infected,
predominately of elderly age, and having numerous underlying comorbidities. Therefore, it is imperative that
they receive the new COVID-19 vaccines. In Aim 1 we will study the kinetics and immunoglobulin subclasses
of COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibody responses in MWCCS male and female people with HIV (PWH) and
matched HIV-uninfected controls (HUC) in a 3-year, longitudinal study against a background of HIV infection
and cardiovascular comorbidities. We will perform quantitative assays to study anti-S antibody binding, virus
neutralization and the capacity of the antigen-specific IgG1, IgG3 and IgA to mediate complement activation.
This will be examined via serological levels of C1q, C3, C3a and C5a. MWCCS core longitudinal visit sera will
be analyzed to determine COVID-19 infection post-immunization by detecting anti-N antibodies and to quantify
the effect of additional immunizations with COVID vaccines. We will also assay sera for soluble immunological
pro- and anti-inflammatory and other biomarkers that relate to HIV-1 infection and cardiovascular disease
(CVD) to assess the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on these systemic parameters. In Aim 2 we will analyze
the multi-omic immune parameter datasets generated in this project to discover, design, and optimize immune
responses against the COVID-19 vaccine in PWH. Our hypothesis is that immunological biomarkers that
predict COVID-19 vaccine response outcomes are identified by machine learning approaches on the entire set
of features quantified in Aim 1. We will identify innate and adaptive immune parameters from Aim 1 that serve
as biomarkers of COVID-19 vaccine outcomes in MWCCS participants using machine learning. This includes
assessment of plasma HIV virus load and biomarkers of HIV-related immune activation and inflammation
associated with chronic cardiovascular disease parameters already documented in MWCCS participants. This
study will be a platform for further, targeted use of core samples for an in-depth investigation of vaccine-
mediated immune mechanisms of protection. The participants who seroconvert, defined as V101 anti-N
negative followed by anti-N positive sample, will be targeted for in-depth investigation of the immune
mechanisms of vaccine-mediated protection, the immunologic responses and virologic characteristics of
breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections in future investigations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10480153
- **Project number:** 3U01HL146208-03S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeremy James Martinson
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $751,032
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10480153

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10480153, COVID-19 vaccine serologic immune response in people with HIV (3U01HL146208-03S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10480153. Licensed CC0.

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