title: Antibody but not memory B-cell responses are tuned-down in vertically HIV-1 infected children and young individuals being vaccinated yearly against influenza.
abstract: Yearly immunization against seasonal influenza is highly recommended for HIV-1 infected individuals but evaluating the success of vaccination by serological markers may not be fully informative in this population. Recently, it has been hypothesized that the generation of long-lasting immune responses may depend on whether similar antigens challenge the immune system frequently and intermittently. In the present study, in order to search for additional correlates of vaccine-induced protective immunity and to further dissect this theory, both humoral and memory B-cell responses to the trivalent 2012-2013 seasonal influenza vaccination has been evaluated by strain-specific (separately for H1N1, H3N2 and B strain) standard hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay and B-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISpot) in a cohort of vertically HIV-1 infected children and young individuals as compared to age-matched healthy controls. A high number of HIV-1 infected individuals had protective antibody levels prior to vaccination and showed low seroconversion rates after vaccination as compared to healthy controls. On the contrary, similar frequencies of influenza-specific memory B-cells were detected by B-cell ELISpot in both groups suggesting that an adequate B-cell response has been elicited. Data from the H1N1 strain, which is recurrent in seasonal influenza vaccines since 2009, pointed out decreasing antibody but not memory B-cell responses for HIV-1 infected patients being vaccinated for a greater number of years. Further investigations are required to standardize the influenza-specific B-cell ELISpot and to understand whether it could be used routinely as an additional tool to evaluate response to influenza vaccination in immune-compromised individuals being vaccinated yearly.
authors: Chair of Pediatrics, Department of System Medicine, University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
authors: Stefano
authors: S
authors: Rinaldi
authors: University Department of Pediatrics, DPUO, Unit of Immune and Infectious Diseases, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy.
authors: Paola
authors: P
authors: Zangari
authors: University Department of Pediatrics, DPUO, Unit of Immune and Infectious Diseases, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy.
authors: Nicola
authors: N
authors: Cotugno
authors: University Department of Pediatrics, DPUO, Unit of Immune and Infectious Diseases, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy.
authors: Emma Concetta
authors: EC
authors: Manno
authors: University Department of Pediatrics, DPUO, Unit of Immune and Infectious Diseases, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy.
authors: Noemi
authors: N
authors: Brolatti
authors: WHO National Influenza Centre - Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy.
authors: Maria Rita
authors: MR
authors: Castrucci
authors: WHO National Influenza Centre - Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy.
authors: Isabella
authors: I
authors: Donatelli
authors: University Department of Pediatrics, DPUO, Unit of Immune and Infectious Diseases, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy.
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Rossi
authors: University Department of Pediatrics, DPUO, Unit of Immune and Infectious Diseases, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.palma@opbg.net.
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Palma
authors: University Department of Pediatrics, DPUO, Unit of Immune and Infectious Diseases, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, 00165 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: alberto.cagigi@gmail.com.
authors: Alberto
authors: A
authors: Cagigi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D014611:Vaccination; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated; C478242:vaxigrip
keywords: AIDS; B-cell ELISpot; B-cells; ELISpot; HI; Immune-compromised; Seasonal influenza; Vaccination response; enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot; hemagglutination inhibition