title: Impact of ageing and a synbiotic on the immune response to seasonal influenza vaccination; a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: Ageing increases risk of respiratory infections and impairs the response to influenza vaccination. Pre- and pro-biotics offer an opportunity to modulate anti-viral defenses and the response to vaccination via alteration of the gut microbiota. This study investigated the effect of a novel probiotic, Bifidobacterium longum bv. infantis CCUG 52486, combined with a prebiotic, gluco-oligosaccharide, on the B and T cell response to seasonal influenza vaccination in young and older subjects .
  
  
  
  In a double-blind, randomized controlled trial, 58 young (18-35 y) and 54 older (60-85 y) subjects were supplemented with the synbiotic for 8 weeks. At 4 weeks they were administered with a seasonal influenza vaccine. B and T cell phenotype and responsiveness to in vitro re-stimulation with the vaccine were assessed at baseline, 4, 6 and 8 weeks.
  
  
  
  B and T cell profiles differed markedly between young and older subjects. Vaccination increased numbers of memory, IgA+memory, IgG+memory and total IgG+B cells in young subjects, but failed to do so in older subjects and did not significantly alter T cell subsets. Seroconversion to the H1N1 subunit in the older subjects was associated with higher post-vaccination numbers of plasma B cells, but seroconversion was less consistently associated with T cell phenotype. B and T cell subsets from both young and older subjects demonstrated a strong antigen-specific recall challenge, and although not influenced by age, responsiveness to the recall challenge was associated with seroconversion. In older subjects, CMV seropositivity was associated with a significantly lower recall response to the vaccine, but the synbiotic did not affect the responsiveness of B or T cells to re-stimulation with influenza vaccine.
  
  
  
  Antigen-specific B and T cell activation following an in vitro recall challenge with the influenza vaccine was influenced by CMV seropositivity, but not by a synbiotic. Registered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier no. NCT01066377.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sumia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Enani
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Przemska-Kosicka
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Caroline E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Childs
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maidens
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Honglin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, via E. Mach, 1, San Michele all'Adige, Trento, 38010, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Conterno
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, via E. Mach, 1, San Michele all'Adige, Trento, 38010, Italy.
authors.forename: Kieran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tuohy
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Margot
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gosney
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AP, United Kingdom. Electronic address: P.Yaqoob@reading.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Parveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yaqoob
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D000069978:Bifidobacterium longum / Q000276:immunology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D056692:Prebiotics; D012621:Seasons; D058616:Synbiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D056692:Prebiotics; D005947:Glucose
keywords: Ageing; Influenza; Lymphocyte; Probiotic; Vaccination