Abstract
Seasonal influenza vaccination elicits a diminished adaptive immune response in the elderly, and the mechanisms of immunosenescence are not fully understood. Using Ig-Seq, we found a marked increase with age in the prevalence of crossreactive (CR) serum antibodies that recognize both the H1N1 (vaccine-H1) and H3N2 (vaccine-H3) components of an eggproduced split influenza vaccine. CR antibodies accounted for 73% ± 18% of the serum vaccine responses in a cohort of elderly donors, 65% ± 15% in late middle-aged donors, and only 13% ± 5% in persons under 35 years of age. The antibody response to non-HA antigens was boosted by vaccination. Recombinant expression of 19 vaccine-H1+H3 CR serum monoclonal antibodies (s-mAbs) revealed that they predominantly bound to non-HA influenza proteins. A sizable fraction of vaccine- H1+H3 CR s-mAbs recognized with high affinity the sulfated glycans, in particular sulfated type 2 N-acetyllactosamine (Galβ1-4GalNAcβ), which is found on egg-produced proteins and thus unlikely to contribute to protection against influenza infection in humans. Antibodies against sulfated glycans in egg-produced vaccine had been identified in animals but were not previously characterized in humans. Collectively, our results provide a quantitative basis for how repeated exposure to split influenza vaccine correlates with unintended focusing of serum antibody responses to non-HA antigens that may result in suboptimal immunity against influenza.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e148763 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Investigation |
Volume | 131 |
Issue number | 13 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2021 |
Keywords
- Adult
- Age Factors
- Aged
- Animals
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology
- Antibodies, Viral/biosynthesis
- Cohort Studies
- Cross Reactions
- Eggs/analysis
- Humans
- Immunoglobulin G/biosynthesis
- Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/immunology
- Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/immunology
- Influenza Vaccines/immunology
- Influenza, Human/immunology
- Middle Aged
- Polysaccharides/immunology
- Vaccination
- Viral Proteins/immunology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)