He Samantha W J, Voß Franziska, Nicolaie Mioara A, Brummelman Jolanda, van de Garde Martijn D B, Bijvank Elske, Poelen Martien, Wijmenga-Monsuur Alienke J, Wyllie Anne L, Trzciński Krzysztof, Van Beek Josine, Rots Nynke Y, den Hartog Gerco, Hammerschmidt Sven, van Els Cécile A C M
Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Department of Molecular Genetics and Infection Biology, Interfaculty Institute of Genetics and Functional Genomics, Center for Functional Genomics of Microbes, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
J Infect Dis. 2024 Dec 16;230(6):e1299-e1310. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiae216.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children and older adults. However, knowledge on the development of pneumococcal protein-specific antibody responses throughout life is limited. To investigate this, we measured serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels to 55 pneumococcal proteins in 11-month-old infants (n = 73), 24-month-old children (n = 101), parents (n = 99), adults without children <6 years of age (n = 99), and older adults aged >60 years (n = 100). Our findings revealed low IgG levels in infancy, with distinct development patterns peaking in adults. A decrease in levels was observed for 27 antigens towards older age. Adults and older adults had increased IgG levels during pneumococcal carriage and at increased exposure risk to S. pneumoniae. Carriage was a stronger predictor than exposure or age for antibody responses. These findings highlight the dynamic nature of naturally acquired humoral immunity to pneumococcal proteins throughout life, offering insights for age-targeted interventions.
Participants were selected from three clinical studies (NTR3462, NTR5405 and NTR3386) conducted in the Netherlands by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
肺炎链球菌是儿童和老年人发病和死亡的主要原因。然而，关于肺炎球菌蛋白特异性抗体反应在整个生命过程中的发展情况的了解有限。为了对此进行研究，我们测量了11个月大的婴儿（n = 73）、24个月大的儿童（n = 101）、父母（n = 99）、6岁以下无子女的成年人（n = 99）以及60岁以上的老年人（n = 100）血清中针对55种肺炎球菌蛋白的免疫球蛋白G（IgG）水平。我们的研究结果显示婴儿期IgG水平较低，在成年人中呈现出不同的发展模式并达到峰值。27种抗原的水平随年龄增长而下降。成年人和老年人在肺炎球菌携带期间以及肺炎链球菌暴露风险增加时IgG水平升高。携带情况比暴露或年龄更能预测抗体反应。这些发现突出了整个生命过程中自然获得的针对肺炎球菌蛋白的体液免疫的动态性质，为针对不同年龄的干预措施提供了见解。
参与者选自荷兰国家公共卫生与环境研究所（RIVM）进行的三项临床研究（NTR3462、NTR5405和NTR3386）。
