Lymphocyte blast transformation and antibody responses after vaccination with inactivated mumps virus vaccine.

Mumps antibody response and the development of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to mumps antigen as assayed by the lymphocyte blast transformation method were studied after immunization with an inactivated mumps vaccine in seven sero-negative and ten sero-positive subjects. The transformation response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to mumps antigen generally appeared by 20 weeks post vaccination and reached levels found in sero-positive subjects years after mumps infection. There was no clear-cut correlation between the magnitude of blast transformation and antibody responses.