[HTML][HTML] Limited efficacy of inactivated influenza vaccine in elderly individuals is associated with decreased production of vaccine-specific antibodies

S Sasaki, M Sullivan, CF Narvaez… - The Journal of …, 2011 - Am Soc Clin Investig
S Sasaki, M Sullivan, CF Narvaez, TH Holmes, D Furman, NY Zheng, M Nishtala…
The Journal of clinical investigation, 2011Am Soc Clin Investig
During seasonal influenza epidemics, disease burden is shouldered predominantly by the
very young and the elderly. Elderly individuals are particularly affected, in part because
vaccine efficacy wanes with age. This has been linked to a reduced ability to induce a robust
serum antibody response. Here, we show that this is due to reduced quantities of vaccine-
specific antibodies, rather than a lack of antibody avidity or affinity. We measured levels of
vaccine-specific plasmablasts by ELISPOT 1 week after immunization of young and elderly …
During seasonal influenza epidemics, disease burden is shouldered predominantly by the very young and the elderly. Elderly individuals are particularly affected, in part because vaccine efficacy wanes with age. This has been linked to a reduced ability to induce a robust serum antibody response. Here, we show that this is due to reduced quantities of vaccine-specific antibodies, rather than a lack of antibody avidity or affinity. We measured levels of vaccine-specific plasmablasts by ELISPOT 1 week after immunization of young and elderly adults with inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine. Plasmablast-derived polyclonal antibodies (PPAbs) were generated from bulk-cultured B cells, while recombinant monoclonal antibodies (re-mAbs) were produced from single plasmablasts. The frequency of vaccine-specific plasmablasts and the concentration of PPAbs were lower in the elderly than in young adults, whereas the yields of secreted IgG per plasmablast were not different. Differences were not detected in the overall vaccine-specific avidity or affinity of PPAbs and re-mAbs between the 2 age groups. In contrast, reactivity of the antibodies induced by the inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine toward the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus, which was not present in the vaccine, was higher in the elderly than in the young. These results indicate that the inferior antibody response to influenza vaccination in the elderly is primarily due to reduced quantities of vaccine-specific antibodies. They also suggest that exposure history affects the cross-reactivity of vaccination-induced antibodies.
The Journal of Clinical Investigation