title: Perfluoroalkyl substance serum concentrations and immune response to FluMist vaccination among healthy adults.
abstract: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were shown to be immunotoxic in laboratory animals. There is some epidemiological evidence that PFAS exposure is inversely associated with vaccine-induced antibody concentration. We examined immune response to vaccination with FluMist intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine in relation to four PFAS (perfluorooctanoate, perfluorononanoate, perfluorooctane sulfonate, perfluorohexane sulfonate) serum concentrations among 78 healthy adults vaccinated during the 2010-2011 influenza season. We measured anti-A H1N1 antibody response and cytokine and chemokine concentrations in serum pre-vaccination, 3 days post-vaccination, and 30 days post-vaccination. We measured cytokine, chemokine, and mucosal IgA concentration in nasal secretions 3 days post-vaccination and 30 days post-vaccination. Adults with higher PFAS concentrations were more likely to seroconvert after FluMist vaccination as compared to adults with lower PFAS concentrations. The associations, however, were imprecise and few participants seroconverted as measured either by hemagglutination inhibition (9%) or immunohistochemical staining (25%). We observed no readily discernable or consistent pattern between PFAS concentration and baseline cytokine, chemokine, or mucosal IgA concentration, or between PFAS concentration and change in these immune markers between baseline and FluMist-response states. The results of this study do not support a reduced immune response to FluMist vaccination among healthy adults in relation to serum PFAS concentration. Given the study's many limitations, however, it does not rule out impaired vaccine response to other vaccines or vaccine components in either children or adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: cheryl.stein@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Cheryl R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1137, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: yongchao.ge@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Yongchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1057, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: mary.wolff@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Mary S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. Electronic address: xay5@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Xiaoyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. Electronic address: aic7@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Antonia M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Calafat
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1124, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: thomas.kraus@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1124, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: thomas.moran@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Moran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D018925:Chemokines / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000276:immunology*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D014611:Vaccination; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D018925:Chemokines; D016207:Cytokines; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D007252:Influenza Vaccines
keywords: Adult; Epidemiology; Fluorocarbons; Influenza vaccines; Seroconversion