Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses following Vaccination with Purified Recombinant Hemagglutinin from Influenza A (H3N2) Virus

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases 1997-02, Vol.175 (2), p.342-351
• Main Authors: Powers, Douglas C., McElhaney, Janet E., Florendo, Oscar A., Manning, Mary C., Upshaw, Craig M., Bentley, David W., Wilkinson, Bethanie E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - immunology; Antigens; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Division - immunology; Cytokines; Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; H3N2 subtype influenza A virus; Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; Hemagglutinins, Viral - genetics; Hemagglutinins, Viral - immunology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Immunity, Cellular; Immunization; Immunologic Memory; Infections; Infectious diseases; Influenza A virus; Influenza A virus - genetics; Influenza A virus - immunology; Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype; Influenza vaccines; Influenza, Human - blood; Influenza, Human - immunology; Influenza, Human - prevention & control; Interferon-gamma - metabolism; Interleukin-10 - metabolism; Interleukin-2 - metabolism; Interleukin-4 - metabolism; Lymphocytes - cytology; Lymphocytes - immunology; Lymphocytes - metabolism; Major Articles; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Placebos; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; T lymphocytes; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic - immunology; Vaccination; Vaccines, Synthetic - immunology; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the respiratory system and ent viral diseases
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/175.2.342

Adults were immunized with either baculovirus-expressed, purified recombinant hemagglutinin (rHA) from influenza A/Beijing/32/92 (H3N2) virus or saline placebo and evaluated for humoral and in vitro cellular immune responses. Compared with responses in placebo recipients, vaccinees had greater postvaccination H3Beijing/32 HA (H3)-specific lymphoproliferation and interleukin (IL)2, IL-l0, and interferon-γ (1FN-γ) production. Mean increases in the production of IL-l0 (⩾20-fold) and IL-2 (l0-fold) were relatively greater than that of IFN-γ (4-fold) or IL-4 (no change). Serum H3 antibodies were induced in 80% of rHA recipients, and the rise in antibody titer was significantly correlated with changes in IL-2, IL-l0, and IFN-γ concentrations. Vaccination with rHA only minimally enhanced anti-influenza virus cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity. These data demonstrate that rHA immunization of adults elicits a significant recall response by memory Band T lymphocytes and suggest that the cytokine response to vaccination has a T helper cell type 0-like profile.