Measuring T cell immunity to influenza vaccination in children after haemopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Quantitative assessment of immunogen-specific T cell responses may provide a meaningful surrogate marker of functional immunity in patients following haemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We developed a flow-cytometric assay to quantify antigen-specific T cell immunity to influenza-A and studied the T cell response to influenza vaccination in five children, 3-21 months post-HSCT. All patients showed an increase in influenza-A-specific CD4(+) immunity following vaccination while none had a detectable IgG response to the vaccine. This assay proved sufficiently sensitive to evaluate changes in T cell memory in immunocompromised individuals and could be used to better characterize post-HSCT immune reconstitution.
Haining
W Nicholas
WN
Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA. nicholas_haining@dfci.harvard.edu
Evans
John W
JW
Seth
Nilufer P
NP
Callaway
G Derek
GD
Wucherpfennig
Kai W
KW
Nadler
Lee M
LM
Guinan
Eva C
EC
D000293:Adolescent; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D015704:CD4 Antigens; D007252:Influenza Vaccines