title: Gender effects on humoral immune responses to smallpox vaccine.
abstract: There are no data currently available on gender and racial variation in smallpox vaccine immune responses. We recruited 1076 healthy adults 18-40 years old who received one dose of the US-licensed smallpox vaccine (Dryvax). Vaccinia neutralizing antibody titers in each subject's serum were determined using a high throughput neutralization assay based on a recombinant, beta-gal expressing vaccinia virus. Results are reported as the serum dilution inhibiting 50% of virus activity (ID(50)). The median ID(50) for all subjects was 132.2 (inter-quartile range (IQR)=78.8, 205.6). While no significant differences were observed with race and ethnicity, females had significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers than males (158.5 [93.2, 255.8] vs. 124.1 [75.2, 185.9]; p<0.0001). As expected, time since vaccination was also associated with variations in neutralizing antibody titers in our subjects. These data indicate that neutralizing antibody titers following primary smallpox vaccination vary by gender.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Inna G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Ovsyannikova
authors.forename: V Shane
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Pankratz
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Vierkant
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: Margaret A K
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Poland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine