COVID-19 Vaccines and Thrombosis—Roadblock or Dead-End Street?

Kenneth Lundstrom, Debmalya Barh, Bruce D. Uhal, Kazuo Takayama, Alaa A. A. Aljabali, Tarek Mohamed Abd El-aziz, Amos Lal, Elrashdy M. Redwan, Parise Adadi, Gaurav Chauhan, Samendra P. Sherchan, Gajendra Kumar Azad, Nima Rezaei, Ángel Serrano-aroca, Nicolas G. Bazan, Sk Sarif Hassan, Pritam Kumar Panda, Pabitra Pal Choudhury, Damiano Pizzol, Ramesh KandimallaWagner Baetas-da-cruz, Yogendra Kumar Mishra, Giorgio Palu, Adam M. Brufsky, Murtaza M. Tambuwala, Vladimir N. Uversky

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Abstract

Two adenovirus-based vaccines, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and Ad26.COV2.S, and two mRNA-based vaccines, BNT162b2 and mRNA.1273, have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and are invaluable in preventing and reducing the incidence of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Recent reports have pointed to thrombosis with associated thrombocytopenia as an adverse effect occurring at a low frequency in some individuals after vaccination. The causes of such events may be related to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interactions with different C-type lectin receptors, heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) and the CD147 receptor, or to different soluble splice variants of the spike protein, adenovirus vector interactions with the CD46 receptor or platelet factor 4 antibodies. Similar findings have been reported for several viral diseases after vaccine administration. In addition, immunological mechanisms elicited by viral vectors related to cellular delivery could play a relevant role in individuals with certain genetic backgrounds. Although rare, the potential COVID-19 vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) requires immediate validation, especially in risk groups, such as the elderly, chronic smokers, and individuals with pre-existing incidences of thrombocytopenia; and if necessary, a reformulation of existing vaccines.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1020
Number of pages11
JournalBiomolecules
Volume11
Issue number7
Early online date13 Jul 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished online - 13 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Humans
  • Risk Factors
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Smokers
  • Vaccines
  • Thrombosis
  • Chronic smokers

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