Opposite Effects of mRNA-Based and Adenovirus-Vectored SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines on Regulatory T Cells: A Pilot Study

New-generation mRNA and adenovirus vectored vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are endowed with immunogenic, inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Recently, BioNTech developed a noninflammatory tolerogenic mRNA vaccine (MOGm1 psi) that induces in mice robust expansion of antigen-specific regulatory T (Treg) cells. The Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is identical to MOGm1 psi except for the lipid carrier, which differs for containing lipid nanoparticles rather than lipoplex. Here we report that vaccination with BNT162b2 led to an increase in the frequency and absolute count of CD4(pos)CD25(high)CD127(low) putative Treg cells; in sharp contrast, vaccination with the adenovirus-vectored ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine led to a significant decrease of CD4(pos)CD25(high) cells. This pilot study is very preliminary, suffers from important limitations and, frustratingly, very hardly can be refined in Italy because of the >90% vaccination coverage. Thus, the provocative perspective that BNT162b2 and MOGm1 psi may share the capacity to promote expansion of Treg cells deserves confirmatory studies in other settings.