Recombinant vaccinia immunization in the presence of passively administered antibody.

Mice were injected with immune serum to vaccinia and/or influenza virus and then immunized by scarification with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the influenza haemagglutinin H1. The serum IgG antibody response to the foreign gene product, influenza H1, was suppressed by the passively administered anti-influenza antibody in a dose-dependent manner. Anti-vaccinia antibody alone had no effect on the anti-haemagglutinin antibody response to the recombinant vaccinia and did not suppress an anti-vaccinia antibody response. Secondary cytotoxic T-lymphocyte killing of influenza virus-infected target cells was relatively low in all animals that were immunized with the recombinant vaccinia, and showed some dose-dependent suppression by the passively administered antibody. The dose dependence of the inhibition suggests that while immunization with recombinant vaccinia viruses may not be effective at birth, they may be useful at several months of age.