Mucosal immunity in healthy adults after parenteral vaccination with outer-membrane vesicles from Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B.
BACKGROUND
Nasopharyngeal carriage of meningococcus or related species leads to protective immunity in adolescence or early adulthood. This natural immunity is associated with mucosal and systemic T cell memory. Whether parenteral Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) vaccination influences natural mucosal immunity is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether parenteral MenB vaccination affects mucosal immunity in young adults and whether this immunity differs from that induced in the blood.


METHODS
Otherwise healthy volunteers were immunized with MenB outer membrane vesicle vaccine before and after routine tonsillectomy. Mucosal and systemic immunity were assessed in 9 vaccinees and 12 unvaccinated control subjects by measuring mononuclear cell proliferation, cytokine production, Th1/Th2 surface marker expression, and antibody to MenB antigens.


RESULTS
Parenteral vaccination induced a marked increase in systemic T cell immunity against MenB and a Th1 bias. In contrast, although mucosal T cell proliferation in response to MenB neither increased nor decreased following vaccination, mononuclear cell interferon gamma, interleukin (IL)-5, and IL-10 production increased, and the Th1/Th2 profile lost its Th1 bias.


CONCLUSIONS
Parenteral MenB vaccination selectively reprograms preexisting naturally acquired mucosal immunity. As new-generation protein-based MenB vaccine candidates undergo evaluation, the impact of these vaccines on mucosal immunity in both adults and children will need to be addressed.
Davenport
Victoria
V
Cellular and Molecular Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Groves
Eleanor
E
Horton
Rachel E
RE
Hobbs
Christopher G
CG
Guthrie
Terry
T
Findlow
Jamie
J
Borrow
Ray
R
Naess
Lisbeth M
LM
Oster
Philipp
P
Heyderman
Robert S
RS
Williams
Neil A
NA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000276:immunology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004333:Drug Administration Routes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D038541:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014611:Vaccination
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines