title: Pneumococcal vaccination may induce anti-oxidized low-density lipoprotein antibodies that have potentially protective effects against cardiovascular disease.
abstract: Many animal and human studies have found an inverse association between anti-oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) antibodies (anti-oxLDL) and atherosclerotic burden. Furthermore, anti-oxLDL antibodies have been shown to cause regression of atherosclerotic plaque in mice. Animal studies indicate that the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine may induce the production of these potentially protective anti-oxLDL antibodies, and human epidemiological studies support their potentially beneficial effect in reducing cardiovascular events. Here we describe the association between self-reported pneumococcal vaccination, vaccination verified by linkage to health records, and anti-pneumococcal antibody titers, and anti-ox-LDL titers in a group of 116 older people. We found a bimodal distribution of anti-oxLDL antibodies, and a significant association between pneumococcal IgG and anti-oxLDL antibody titers that remained after multivariate adjustment for potential confounders (p=0.04). There was no significant association between self-reported vaccination or vaccination verified by health record linkage and ox-LDL titers, which may be due to reporting error or variability in response to the vaccine. These results support a mechanistic link between pneumococcal vaccination and a potential protective effect on cardiovascular disease, and indicate that self-reported or verified vaccine status may not be sufficient to detect this association.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Medicine, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Suthers
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hansbro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thambar
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McEvoy
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Attia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: C414006:23-valent pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide vaccine; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001323:Autoantibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; C099252:oxidized low density lipoprotein