Impaired humoral immunity following COVID-19 vaccination in HTLV-1 carriers.

BACKGROUND: Whether human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) carriers can develop sufficient humoral immunity after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination is unknown. METHODS: To investigate humoral immunity after COVID-19 vaccination in HTLV-1 carriers, a multicenter, prospective observational cohort study was conducted at five institutions in southwestern Japan, an endemic area for HTLV-1. HTLV-1 carriers and HTLV-1-negative controls were enrolled for this study from January to December 2022. During this period, the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was actively administered. HTLV-1 carriers were enrolled during outpatient visits, while HTLV-1-negative controls included health care workers and patients treated by participating institutions for diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia. The main outcome was the effect of HTLV-1 infection on the plasma anti-COVID-19 spike IgG (IgG-S) titers after the third dose, assessed by multivariate linear regression with other clinical factors. RESULTS: We analyzed 181 cases (90 HTLV-1 carriers, 91 HTLV-1-negative controls) after receiving the third dose. HTLV-1 carriers were older (median age 67.0 vs. 45.0 years, p < 0.001) and more frequently had diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia than did HTLV-1-negative controls (60.0% vs. 27.5%, p < 0.001). After the third dose, the IgG-S titers decreased over time in both carriers and controls. Multivariate linear regression in the entire cohort showed that time since the third dose, age, and HTLV-1 infection negatively influenced IgG-S titers. After adjusting for confounders such as age, or presence of diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia between carriers and controls using the overlap weighting propensity score method, and performing weighted regression analysis in the entire cohort, both time since the third dose and HTLV-1 infection negatively influenced IgG-S titers. CONCLUSIONS: The humoral immunity after the third vaccination dose is impaired in HTLV-1 carriers; thus, customized vaccination schedules may be necessary for them.

Solution-processed bulk-heterojunction solar cells containing self-organized disk-shaped donors.

Two molecular disks 1 and 2 composed of a central pyrene core, four oligothiopenes, and peripheral alkyl chains were synthesized and characterized with respect to optical and redox properties in solution and in solid films. It was found that the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of 1 and 2 were ideal for achieving efficient electron transfer to fullerene derivatives PC60BM and PC70BM, and that 1 and 2 can function as electron donor components in solution-processed bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. Disk-shaped molecules 1 and 2 organized ordered structures through intermolecular π-π interactions as monitored by temperature-controlled polarized optical microscope (TPOM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). Solution-processed BHJ solar cells using 1 or 2 as electron donor materials and fullerene derivatives as acceptor materials were fabricated and investigated. The oligothiophene lengths were reflected in the performance characteristics of solar cell devices fabricated using disk-shaped donors 1 and 2. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.6% was achieved for small-molecule BHJ solar cells containing self-organized crystals of 2 in the active layer under one sun condition.