title: Poor antibody response after tetanus and pneumococcal vaccination in immunocompromised, HIV-infected patients.
abstract: Ten patients with symptomatic HIV infection (six with ARC, four with AIDS) received tetanus and 23-valent pneumococcal vaccination. Anti-tetanus IgG and IgM, and anti-pneumococcal IgG against all 23 capsular types of the vaccine were measured on days 0, 11, 17, 30, and 90. Anti-pneumococcal IgG were simultaneously determined in two plasma pools of 100 healthy unimmunized blood donors and of 112 healthy adults who had previously received a 14-valent pneumococcal vaccination. Peak IgG responses to both vaccines were observed on day 17; thereafter, the antibody levels gradually fell again. Anti-tetanus IgG rose from 0.6 U/ml (geometric mean) to 2.0 U/ml on day 17. Anti-tetanus IgM remained unchanged. Anti-pneumococcal IgG increased only by 1.14-fold compared with pre-vaccination levels (geometric mean of IgG rises against all 23 polysaccharides in 10 patients), and exceeded the upper 95% limit of unvaccinated blood donors in only 30 out of 230 specimens. Pre-vaccination levels for pneumococcal type-specific IgG were significantly higher in HIV-infected patients compared with the pool of unimmunized healthy controls, possibly indicating a higher rate of previous pneumococcal infections in HIV-seropositive subjects. However, post-pneumococcal vaccination levels were significantly lower in HIV-infected patients than in the pool of healthy controls. The increase in anti-tetanus IgG significantly correlated with the level of CD4 lymphocytes and with in vitro lymphocyte proliferation by pokeweed mitogen (5 micrograms/ml) and phytohaemagglutinin (2.5 micrograms/ml), confirming a particularly low vaccination response in patients who were severely immunocompromised.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Opravil
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fierz
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matter
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blaser
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lüthy
mesh_terms: D000386:AIDS-Related Complex / Q000276:immunology*; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D005260:Female; D006678:HIV / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D013745:Tetanus Toxoid / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D013745:Tetanus Toxoid