Cherukuri Anu, Patton Kathryn, Gasser Robert A, Zuo Fengrong, Woo Jennifer, Esser Mark T, Tang Roderick S
Infectious Diseases/Vaccines Research, MedImmune, LLC, Mountain View, California, USA.
Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2013 Feb;20(2):239-47. doi: 10.1128/CVI.00580-12. Epub 2012 Dec 12.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infects elderly (≥65 years) adults, causing medically attended illness and hospitalizations. While RSV neutralizing antibody levels correlate inversely with RSV-associated hospitalization in the elderly, the role of RSV-specific T cells in preventing disease in the elderly remains unclear. We examined RSV-specific humoral, mucosal, and cellular immune profiles in healthy elderly (65 to 85 years) and young (20 to 30 years) adults. RSV neutralization antibody titers in the elderly (10.5 ± 2.2 log(2)) and young (10.5 ± 2.1 log(2)) were similar. In contrast, levels of RSV F protein-specific gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing T cells were lower in elderly (180 ± 80 spot-forming cells [SFC]/10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells [PBMC]) than in young adults (1,250 ± 420 SFC/10(6) PBMC). Higher levels of interleukin-13 (IL-13; 3,000 ± 1,000 pg/ml) in cultured PBMC supernatants and lower frequency of RSV F-specific CD107a(+) CD8(+) T cells (3.0% ± 1.6% versus 5.0% ± 1.6%) were measured in PBMC from elderly than young adults. These results suggest that deficient RSV F-specific T cell responses contribute to susceptibility to severe RSV disease in elderly adults.
呼吸道合胞病毒（RSV）感染老年人（≥65岁），导致需要就医的疾病和住院治疗。虽然RSV中和抗体水平与老年人中RSV相关住院率呈负相关，但RSV特异性T细胞在预防老年人疾病中的作用仍不清楚。我们检测了健康老年人（65至85岁）和年轻人（20至30岁）中RSV特异性体液、黏膜和细胞免疫谱。老年人（10.5±2.2 log₂）和年轻人（10.5±2.1 log₂）的RSV中和抗体滴度相似。相比之下，老年人（180±80斑点形成细胞[SFC]/10⁶外周血单个核细胞[PBMC]）中产生RSV F蛋白特异性γ干扰素（IFN-γ）的T细胞水平低于年轻人（1250±420 SFC/10⁶ PBMC）。在培养的PBMC上清液中，老年人的白细胞介素-13（IL-13；3000±1000 pg/ml）水平较高，且在PBMC中，老年人RSV F特异性CD107a⁺ CD8⁺ T细胞的频率较低（3.0%±1.6%对5.0%±1.6%）。这些结果表明，RSV F特异性T细胞反应不足导致老年人对严重RSV疾病易感。
