title: Antibody response to outer membrane protein of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in otitis-prone children.
abstract: One of the major outer membrane proteins of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, P6, is highly conserved among strains, serves as a target for bactericidal antibody, and has been proposed as a possible vaccine candidate. The serum antibody response to P6 was studied in otitis-prone and normal children by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Of 20 otitis-prone children, 12 (60%) had a serum IgG antibody response to P6 after otitis media; however, the mean acute antibody level for the group, 4.6 micrograms/ml, was not significantly different from the convalescent level, 5.4 micrograms/ml. Anti-P6 antibody levels were also measured longitudinally for 10 to 25 months in 30 otitis-prone and 13 healthy children. Antibody levels increased sevenfold in the normal group compared with less than three-fold for the otitis-prone group and were significantly higher in the normal children after the age of 18 months (p < 0.05). Finally, otitis-prone children who had two or more episodes of otitis media with nontypeable H. influenzae did not have an anamnestic antibody response to P6. The failure to recognize P6 as a specific immunogen may account for recurrent infections. Moreover, the data suggest that otitis-prone children may not respond adequately to a vaccine containing P6.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Sapporo Medical College, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Faden
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M