title: Cholera toxin-specific memory B cell responses are induced in patients with dehydrating diarrhea caused by Vibrio cholerae O1.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infection with Vibrio cholerae induces durable immunity against subsequent disease, a process hypothesized to reflect anamnestic immune responses at the intestinal mucosa. The presence of antigen-specific memory B cells may therefore be a more direct measure of protection than serum antibody responses.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured immunoglobulin (Ig) G memory B cells specific to cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) in 14 patients up to 90 days after V. cholerae O1 infection, by polyclonal stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells followed by standard enzyme-linked immunospot assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients generated CTB-specific IgG memory B cell responses by day 30 (mean, 0.10% of total circulating IgG memory B cells; range, 0.037%-0.28%), which persisted to day 90 (mean, 0.07%; range, 0.003%-0.27%). In contrast, circulating CTB-specific IgG antibody-secreting cells and serum vibriocidal and anti-CTB antibody responses peaked on day 7 and declined to undetectable or significantly lower levels by day 90.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CTB-specific IgG memory B cell responses are detectable in the circulation at least 3 months after V. cholerae O1 infection and remain measurable even after serum antibody titers have declined to undetectable or considerably lower levels. This suggests that antigen-specific memory B cells may be an important long-term marker of the immune response to cholera.
authors: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh.
authors: Channa R
authors: CR
authors: Jayasekera
authors: Jason B
authors: JB
authors: Harris
authors: Saruar
authors: S
authors: Bhuiyan
authors: Fahima
authors: F
authors: Chowdhury
authors: Ashraful I
authors: AI
authors: Khan
authors: Abu S G
authors: AS
authors: Faruque
authors: Regina C
authors: RC
authors: Larocque
authors: Edward T
authors: ET
authors: Ryan
authors: Rafi
authors: R
authors: Ahmed
authors: Firdausi
authors: F
authors: Qadri
authors: Stephen B
authors: SB
authors: Calderwood
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002771:Cholera / Q000276:immunology*; D002772:Cholera Toxin / Q000276:immunology*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D041241:Vibrio cholerae O1
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D002772:Cholera Toxin