Rituximab, but not other biologics, impairs humoral immunity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis—a study using CoVariant protein arrays

OBJECTIVES: RA is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation and joint destruction. Biologics are crucial to achieving treat-to-target goals in patients with RA. The global spread and continuous variation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) necessitate the monitoring of variant-specific humoral responses post-vaccination. The aim of this study was to investigate how different biologic treatments for vaccinated RA patients might affect their neutralizing antibodies against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants. METHODS: We recruited RA patients who had received three doses of conventional SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and were treated with various biologics, e.g. TNF inhibitor (etanercept), IL-6 inhibitor (tocilizumab), CTLA4-Ig (abatacept) or anti-CD20 (rituximab). Serum samples were used to profile the binding and neutralizing antibodies using our own SARS-CoV-2 variant (CoVariant) protein array, developed previously. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, only RA therapy with rituximab showed a reduction in neutralizing antibodies capable of targeting spike proteins in SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and most variants. This reduction was not observed in binding antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type or its variants. CONCLUSION: After receiving three doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, RA patients who underwent rituximab treatment generated sufficient antibodies but exhibited lower neutralizing activities against wild-type and multiple variants, including current Omicron. Other biological DMARDs, e.g. TNF inhibitor, IL-6 inhibitor and CTLA4-Ig, did not show obvious inhibition.