Centre for Infectious Disease Control (Cib), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Centre for Infectious Disease Control (Cib), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Department of Pediatric Immunology and Infectious Disease, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Exp Gerontol. 2018 May;105:101-108. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2017.12.014. Epub 2017 Dec 26.
Successful vaccination of elderly persons is often hampered by immunological ageing, leaving part of the elderly population vulnerable for infectious diseases. As an alternative, timely vaccinations might be administered at middle-age, before reaching old age. Studies evaluating the immunological fitness of middle-aged adults are warranted. In this study we compared the immunogenicity of a primary meningococcal vaccination in Dutch middle-aged adults with that in adolescents, in order to gain knowledge on the early signs of immune ageing.
In this study, we compared the antibody responses after a primary meningococcal vaccination between middle-aged adults (50-65years of age, N=204) and adolescents (10-15years of age, N=225). Blood samples were taken pre-, as well as 28days and 1year post-vaccination. Functional antibody titers were measured with the serum bactericidal killing assay using baby rabbit complement (rSBA). Meningococcal polysaccharide (PS) specific IgG and IgM concentrations were determined with a fluorescent bead-based multiplex immunoassay.
Lower post-vaccination functional antibody titers against meningococcal group W and Y were observed in the middle-aged adults compared to the adolescents. One year post-vaccination, also a significantly higher proportion of the middle-aged adults possessed an rSBA titer below protection level. A large reduction in post-vaccination IgM concentrations was observed in the middle-aged adults, whereas IgG concentrations were only marginally different between the two age groups. Strong correlations between the post-vaccination rSBA titers and IgM concentrations were found both in the middle-aged adults and the adolescents.
Although protective antibody titers were initiated after primary meningococcal vaccination in middle-aged adults, antibody functionality was significantly lower as compared to that in adolescents. This difference was mainly caused by lower IgM responses. Our results indicate early signs of immune ageing in middle-aged adults, which is important knowledge for the development of future vaccine strategies to better protect elderly persons against infectious diseases.
老年人的成功接种往往受到免疫衰老的阻碍，使部分老年人易感染传染病。作为替代方案，及时接种疫苗可能在中年时期进行，即在达到老年之前。因此，有必要评估中年成年人的免疫适应性。在这项研究中，我们比较了荷兰中年成年人和青少年初次接种脑膜炎球菌疫苗的免疫原性，以了解免疫衰老的早期迹象。
在这项研究中，我们比较了中年成年人（50-65 岁，N=204）和青少年（10-15 岁，N=225）初次接种脑膜炎球菌疫苗后的抗体反应。在接种前、接种后 28 天和 1 年采集血样。使用婴儿兔补体（rSBA）的血清杀菌杀伤测定法测量功能性抗体滴度。用荧光珠基多重免疫分析法测定脑膜炎球菌多糖（PS）特异性 IgG 和 IgM 浓度。
与青少年相比，中年成年人接种疫苗后的针对脑膜炎球菌组 W 和 Y 的功能性抗体滴度较低。接种后 1 年，也有更高比例的中年成年人的 rSBA 滴度低于保护水平。中年成年人接种后 IgM 浓度明显下降，而 IgG 浓度在两个年龄组之间仅略有差异。在中年成年人和青少年中均发现接种后 rSBA 滴度与 IgM 浓度之间存在很强的相关性。
尽管中年成年人初次接种脑膜炎球菌疫苗后产生了保护性抗体滴度，但抗体功能明显低于青少年。这种差异主要是由于 IgM 反应较低所致。我们的结果表明中年成年人存在免疫衰老的早期迹象，这对于开发未来的疫苗策略以更好地保护老年人免受传染病的侵害非常重要。
