Antibodies in vaccine-induced blood clots show the same “fingerprints” as those triggered after common cold

Newswise — The antibodies formed in classic vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) are essentially identical as those formed in the VITT-mimicking disorder triggered by natural adenovirus infection, according to a new letter in the May 16, 2024 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

 Highlights:

• Such an extraordinary level of autoantibody fingerprint identity between two disorders — at the level of patient-derived antibodies — strongly indicates that VITT and the anti-PF4 disorder associated with adenoviral infection are a distinct class of adverse immune responses associated with viral (presumably, adenoviral) structures.
• The findings have important diagnostic and treatment implications, namely that the lessons learned from VITT are applicable to adenovirus anti-PF4 disorders (important information for physicians to help them recognize and treat sporadic cases of VITT-like disease after adenovirus infection)
• The findings have important implications for improving vaccine safety.

The paper, co-led by corresponding author Ted Warkentin, professor emeritus at McMaster University, along with collaborators in Australia, Germany, Italy, and the USA, builds off of work published by Dr. Warkentin and collaborators in the New England Journal of Medicine in August 2023 that reported that natural infection with adenovirus—a “common cold” virus—can also rarely cause (approximately one week later) a blood clotting disorder that strongly mimics VITT.

To speak with Ted Warkentin, corresponding author and professor emeritus, McMaster University, contact him directly: [email protected]