title: Analysis of peripheral blood immune cells after prophylactic immunization with HPV-16/18 ASO4-adjuvanted vaccine.
abstract: Persistent infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is a causal factor for more than 99% of cervical cancers. Recently, prophylactic vaccines have been developed to prevent infections with cancer-associated HPV types (HPV16 and HPV18). The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in the immune system that occur within four weeks of the first dose of HPV-16/18 ASO4-adjuvanted vaccine. Assessment of the percentages of selected cell populations in peripheral blood of 20 healthy volunteers vaccinated with Cervarix was performed using flow cytometry. The analysis revealed an increase in the proportion of activated B and CD4+ T helper cells and an absence of significant differences in cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes, indicating activation of the humoral response after vaccination, without a significant effect on cellular response. There were no significant changes in the NK cell population, and there was a reduction of the percentage of NKT-like cells, which may result from expiry of the primary response at the time of analysis. The presented results are preliminary, and in the context of the increasing use of the anti-HPV vaccine, it would be worth continuing the study in larger groups of patients and at earlier and later time points in combination with the measurement of specific anti-HPV16 and -HPV18 antibody levels. Such an assessment could therefore contribute not only to better understanding of the exact mechanism of action of the vaccine, but also to defining the immunological parameters that determine its effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Transplantology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Iwona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hus
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Specialist Hospital in Jasło, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonet-Sebastianka
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Immunotherapy, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Surdacka
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Immunotherapy, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bojarska-Junak
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology and Immunotherapy, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roliński
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16; D052161:Human papillomavirus 18; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines; D014611:Vaccination; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines; C510352:human papillomavirus vaccine, L1 type 16, 18