The impact of B-cell perturbations on pneumococcal conjugate vaccine response in HIV-infected adults

PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e42307. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042307. Epub 2012 Jul 30.

Abstract

Untreated HIV infection results in severe perturbations of the B-cell population and hyporesponsiveness to vaccination. We studied associations between circulating B-cell subsets and antibody response to pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in treated and untreated HIV patients.Ninety-five HIV-infected adults were grouped according to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and CD4+ cell count as follows: 20 ART-naïve (no prior ART), 62 ART-responders (received ART, and CD4 count >500 cells/µl), and 13 impaired responders (received ART for more than 3 years, and CD4 count <500 cells/µl). All subjects were immunized twice with double-dose 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine with or without 1 mg CPG 7909 (toll-like receptor 9 agonist) at baseline and after three months. Pre-vaccination B-cell subpopulations were assessed by flow cytometry. Serum IgG concentrations for vaccine serotypes were quantified by ELISA at baseline and 3, 4, and 9 months post-vaccination. ART responders had more isotype-switched memory B cells and more marginal-zone (MZ)-like B cells compared with impaired responders. Furthermore, ART-naïve patients had higher concentration of transitional B cells and plasmablasts compared with B cells of other patient groups. The concentration of MZ-like, isotype switched memory cells and plasmablasts correlated positively with post-vaccination IgG concentration at 3, 4, and 9 months. Low concentrations of isotype-switched memory B cells was the strongest independent predictor of poor pneumococcal conjugate vaccine responsiveness, emphasizing that B-cell subset disturbances are associated with poor vaccine response among HIV-infected patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-HIV Agents / therapeutic use
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / biosynthesis
  • B-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • CD4 Lymphocyte Count
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Flow Cytometry
  • HIV Infections / drug therapy
  • HIV Infections / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Memory
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pneumococcal Vaccines / immunology*

Substances

  • Anti-HIV Agents
  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Pneumococcal Vaccines

Grants and funding

Grant support was provided by Aarhus University, The Danish Council for Independent Research | Medical Sciences, Scandinavian Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, and Aase and Ejnar Danielsen's Foundation. Coley Pharmaceutical Group (now part of Pfizer) provided CPG 7909 for the study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.