TY - JOUR
T1 - Post-booster longitudinal plasma proteomic changes following BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccination in Qatar
AU - Bentebbal, Sana
AU - Zaqout, Ahmed
AU - Meqbel, Bakhita
AU - Bensmail, Ilham
AU - Aldushain, Abdullah
AU - de la Fuente, Alberto
AU - Thomas, Remy
AU - Naik, Adviti
AU - Shaath, Hibah
AU - Al-Akl, Neyla S.
AU - Adam, Abdi
AU - Moussa, Houda Y.A.
AU - Shin, Kyung C.
AU - Taha, Rowaida Z.
AU - Abukhattab, Mohammed
AU - Al-Maslamani, Muna A.
AU - Alajez, Nehad M.
AU - Arredouani, Abdelilah
AU - Park, Yongsoo
AU - Abdulla, Sara A.
AU - El-Agnaf, Omar M.A.
AU - Abdesselem, Houari B.
AU - Omrani, Ali S.
AU - Decock, Julie
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2026 Bentebbal, Zaqout, Meqbel, Bensmail, Aldushain, de la Fuente, Thomas, Naik, Shaath, Al-Akl, Adam, Moussa, Shin, Taha, Abukhattab, Al-Maslamani, Alajez, Arredouani, Park, Abdulla, El-Agnaf, Abdesselem, Omrani and Decock.
PY - 2026/4
Y1 - 2026/4
N2 - Background – The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a major global health and economic burden. Although the pandemic was no longer declared a public health emergency of international concern in May 2023, SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to emerge, and millions remain affected by long COVID. This raises the question whether continued vaccination provides lasting benefits in preventing viral transmission and severe illness. Aim – This longitudinal study assessed the effects of the third BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine dose on the circulating proteome for 6 months. Methods – Plasma levels of 354 unique proteins were quantified before, and at 3- and 6-months post-booster using Olink technology in 70 healthy individuals; 35 infection-naïve and 35 previously infected individuals (18 infected before, 17 after completing the two-dose regimen). Results – Infection-naïve individuals showed altered levels of eleven and eight proteins at 3- and 6-months post-booster, respectively, including a significant sustained increase in PARP-1 (FC = 1.53, p=8.59x10-5, pFDR=0.01) and significant decrease in MMP-7 (FC = 0.68, p=4.58x10-5, pFDR=0.01), in addition to elevated levels of MMP-1 (FC = 1.46, p=0.04, pFDR>0.05) and decrease in 4E-BP1 (FC = 0.58, p=0.01, pFDR>0.05) at 6 months post-booster. Similarly, previously infected individuals, in particular those with earlier infections before receiving the second dose exhibited a significant sustained upregulation of PARP-1 (FC = 2.10, p=1.19x10-5, pFDR=0.003) and downregulation of MMP-7 (FC = 0.58, p=2.19x10-5, pFDR=0.003) at 6-months post-booster. Notably, PARP-1 and MMP-7 were consistently affected across all individuals. Longitudinal proteome profiling revealed dysregulation of key inflammatory proteins for up to 6 months post-booster, including PARP-1 and MMP-7 (pFDR=1.58x10–8 and pFDR=1.59x10-5, respectively). Conclusions – These findings provide insights into the temporal dynamics of circulating proteomic responses following booster vaccination, highlighting molecular features that may be relevant to immune readiness and post-vaccination inflammatory processes.
AB - Background – The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a major global health and economic burden. Although the pandemic was no longer declared a public health emergency of international concern in May 2023, SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to emerge, and millions remain affected by long COVID. This raises the question whether continued vaccination provides lasting benefits in preventing viral transmission and severe illness. Aim – This longitudinal study assessed the effects of the third BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine dose on the circulating proteome for 6 months. Methods – Plasma levels of 354 unique proteins were quantified before, and at 3- and 6-months post-booster using Olink technology in 70 healthy individuals; 35 infection-naïve and 35 previously infected individuals (18 infected before, 17 after completing the two-dose regimen). Results – Infection-naïve individuals showed altered levels of eleven and eight proteins at 3- and 6-months post-booster, respectively, including a significant sustained increase in PARP-1 (FC = 1.53, p=8.59x10-5, pFDR=0.01) and significant decrease in MMP-7 (FC = 0.68, p=4.58x10-5, pFDR=0.01), in addition to elevated levels of MMP-1 (FC = 1.46, p=0.04, pFDR>0.05) and decrease in 4E-BP1 (FC = 0.58, p=0.01, pFDR>0.05) at 6 months post-booster. Similarly, previously infected individuals, in particular those with earlier infections before receiving the second dose exhibited a significant sustained upregulation of PARP-1 (FC = 2.10, p=1.19x10-5, pFDR=0.003) and downregulation of MMP-7 (FC = 0.58, p=2.19x10-5, pFDR=0.003) at 6-months post-booster. Notably, PARP-1 and MMP-7 were consistently affected across all individuals. Longitudinal proteome profiling revealed dysregulation of key inflammatory proteins for up to 6 months post-booster, including PARP-1 and MMP-7 (pFDR=1.58x10–8 and pFDR=1.59x10-5, respectively). Conclusions – These findings provide insights into the temporal dynamics of circulating proteomic responses following booster vaccination, highlighting molecular features that may be relevant to immune readiness and post-vaccination inflammatory processes.
KW - BNT162b2
KW - MMP-7
KW - PARP-1
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - booster
KW - proteomic profiling
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105038493159
U2 - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1762522
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1762522
M3 - Article
C2 - 42112321
AN - SCOPUS:105038493159
SN - 1664-3224
VL - 17
JO - Frontiers in Immunology
JF - Frontiers in Immunology
M1 - 1762522
ER -