Immunogenicity of a Whole-Cell Pertussis Vaccine with Low Lipopolysaccharide Content in Infants

Author(s):Show less -

Zorzeto, Tatiane Queiroz ^{[1, 2]} ; Higashi, Hisako Gondo ^[3] ; Nolasco da Silva, Marcos Tadeu ^{[1, 2]} ; Carniel, Emilia de Faria ^{[1, 2]} ; Dias, Waldely Oliveira ^[3] ; Ramalho, Vanessa Domingues ^[1] ; Mazzola, Tais Nitsch ^[1] ; Batista Souza Lima, Simone Corte ^[1] ; Morcillo, Andre Moreno ^{[1, 2]} ; Stephano, Marco Antonio ^[4] ; Reis de Goes Antonio, Maria Angela ^[2] ; Zanolli, Maria de Lurdes ^[2] ; Raw, Isaias ^[3] ; dos Santos Vilela, Maria Marluce ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Sch Med, Ctr Investigat Pediat, BR-13083887 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Sch Med, Dept Pediat, BR-13083887 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Butantan Inst, BR-05503900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Clinical and Vaccine Immunology; v. 16, n. 4, p. 544-550, APR 2009.
• Web of Science Citations: 19

Abstract

The lack of a clear correlation between the levels of antibody to pertussis antigens and protection against disease lends credence to the possibility that cell-mediated immunity provides primary protection against disease. This phase I comparative trial had the aim of comparing the in vitro cellular immune response and anti-pertussis toxin (anti-PT) immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers induced by a cellular pertussis vaccine with low lipopolysaccharide (LPS) content (wP(low) vaccine) with those induced by the conventional whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine. A total of 234 infants were vaccinated at 2, 4, and 6 months with the conventional wP vaccine or the wP(low) vaccine. Proliferation of CD3(+) T cells was evaluated by flow cytometry after 6 days of peripheral blood mononuclear cell culture with stimulation with heat-killed Bordetella pertussis or phytohemagglutinin (PHA). CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+), and T-cell receptor gamma delta-positive (gamma delta(+)) cells were identified in the gate of blast lymphocytes. Gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-10 levels in super-natants and serum anti-PT IgG levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The net percentage of CD3(+) blasts in cultures with B. pertussis in the group vaccinated with wP was higher than that in the group vaccinated with the wP(low) vaccine (medians of 6.2% for the wP vaccine and 3.9% for the wP(low) vaccine; P = 0.029). The frequencies of proliferating CD4(+), CD8(+), and gamma delta(+) cells, cytokine concentrations in supernatants, and the geometric mean titers of anti-PT IgG were similar for the two vaccination groups. There was a significant difference between the T-cell subpopulations for B. pertussis and PHA cultures, with a higher percentage of gamma delta(+) cells in the B. pertussis cultures (P < 0.001). The overall data did suggest that wP vaccination resulted in modestly better specific CD3(+) cell proliferation, and gamma delta(+) cell expansions were similar with the two vaccines. (AU)