title: Gene polymorphism in toll-like receptor 4: effect on antibody production and persistence after acellular pertussis vaccination during adolescence.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Toll-like receptors play an important role in the regulation of adaptive immunity. This study aimed to investigate whether Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) polymorphisms influence the production and persistence of antibodies after acellular pertussis booster vaccination during adolescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-five subjects received a single dose of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine 10 years ago, during adolescence. The same cohort was followed up at 3, 5, and 10 years after this booster vaccination. Pyrosequencing was used for detecting polymorphism in TLR4. Concentrations of anti-pertussis vaccine antibodies were measured by standardized enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay and published elsewhere.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The fold increase in antibodies to pertussis toxin after original vaccination 10 years ago was significantly lower in subjects with TLR4 polymorphism than in those without (55% vs 86%; P = .028). At the 3-year follow-up evaluation, geometric mean concentrations of anti-pertussis vaccine antibodies were significantly lower in subjects with TLR4 polymorphism, compared with those without the polymorphism (for pertussis toxin, P = .028; for filamentous hemagglutinin, P = .047; and for pertactin, P = .046).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphism might influence production and persistence of antibodies after pertussis booster vaccination in adolescents. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as the number of subjects included in this study was limited.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Kirsi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gröndahl-Yli-Hannuksela
authors.forename: Juho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vuononvirta
authors.forename: Alex-Mikael
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Barkoff
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viander
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Van Der Meeren
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mertsola
authors.forename: Qiushui
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D022681:Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D022681:Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines; C495345:TLR4 protein, human; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4