title: Nucleocapsid specific T and B cell responses in humans after rabies vaccination.
abstract: The importance of the immune response directed to the internal component of the rabies virus, the nucleocapsid (NC), was evaluated in humans after rabies vaccination. T cell activation was measured with a bulk proliferative assay and relative frequencies of circulating NC-specific PBL were calculated with the limiting dilution technique. Vaccinees were classified into two groups: NC responders and NC non-responders. In NC responders, the frequency of NC-specific circulating lymphocytes was up to 6 times higher than the frequency of virus-specific lymphocytes. In non-responders, NC-specific lymphocytes were up to 25 times less common than virus-specific ones. The NC capacity to induce a secondary antibody response was tested in vitro. After a stimulation with complete virus, lymphocytes originating from donors vaccinated with tissue culture vaccine produced a secondary antibody-response composed mainly of glycoprotein-specific neutralizing antibodies, whereas lymphocytes from suckling mouse brain vaccines produced essentially NC-specific antibodies. This result confirmed the serological status of suckling mouse brain vaccinees, who usually developed high titres of NC-specific antibodies. After an in vitro NC stimulation, lymphocytes collected from NC responders produced not only NC-specific antibodies, provided they have NC-specific B cells at the time of blood sampling, but most surprisingly, they also produce glycoprotein-specific neutralizing antibodies. This finding indicates that NC free of glycoprotein is capable, in some individuals, of boosting an heterologous glycoprotein response.
authors.affiliation: Unité de la Rage, Hôpital Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lafage
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Montaño-Hirose
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fritzell
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scott-Algara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lafon
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002213:Capsid / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D011819:Rabies Vaccines