Immune profiling of mpox survivors reveals divergent durability of antibody and T cell responses
Despite the global spread of mpox virus (MPXV), the durability and breadth of infection-induced immunity remain incompletely defined. Here, we comprehensively characterize MPXV-specific antibody and T cell responses up to 18 months after natural infection in male individuals. Neutralizing antibodies exhibit typical acute viral kinetics, with titers peaking early and declining over time, from a mean of 328 at 12 months to 180 at 18 months post-infection. Neutralization analyses against MPXV clade Ib, clade IIb and VACV WR strains demonstrate pronounced cross-neutralization among orthopoxviruses, but with lineage-specific reductions in neutralization, indicating incomplete cross-reactivity across different lineages. In parallel, MPXV-specific CD4⁺ and Tfh cell responses remain robust and polyfunctional throughout follow-up, and CD8⁺ T cells maintain sustained responses characterized by cytokine production, together supporting durable cellular immunity. These findings offer critical insights into the durability and breadth of post-infection immunity, with implications for reinfection risk and orthopoxvirus vaccine strategies.
Authors
- Jingjing Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0791-4951)
- Yongxia Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5828-0250)
- Canjie Chen
- Jincun Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2515-5589)
- Pengzhe Qin
- Qingtao Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8291-7116)
- Qun Zhong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1845-9357)
- Shuxiang Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3121-7179)
- Suxiang Li
- Peilan Wei
- Yanqun Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4676-2812)
- Xindan Xing (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7274-8670)
- Jingxian Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2615-3182)
- Airu Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6374-4467)
- Yuanyuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9263-6262)
- Lei Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4906-5163)
- Xinxin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5624-5689)
- Yang Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6489-4459)
- Zhiwei Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0625-5388)
- Zhaoyong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7322-7949)
- Jiantao Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7214-2257)
- Lijuan Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9951-6837)
- Bin Qu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9382-3203)
- Xinyi Xiong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9123-393X)
- Hua Bai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9641-7227)
- Lu Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7289-1578)
- Ruoxi Cai
Institutions
- Southern University of Science and Technology (CN)
- ShanghaiTech University (CN)
- Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CN)
- First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (CN)
- Guangzhou Chemistry (China) (CN)
- Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease (CN)
- Guangdong Inspection and Quarantine Technology Center (China) (CN)
- Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital (CN)
- Guangzhou Medical University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-12-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67266-7
- Primary Topic
- Poxvirus research and outbreaks
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- General Administration of Customs
- National Key Research and Development Program of China