THE ANTIBODY-RESPONSE AFTER IMMUNIZATION WITH PNEUMOCOCCAL POLYSACCHARIDE VACCINE IN SPLENECTOMIZED MICE - THE EFFECT OF RE-IMMUNIZATION WITH PNEUMOCOCCAL ANTIGENS
Is. Aaberge et M. Lovik, THE ANTIBODY-RESPONSE AFTER IMMUNIZATION WITH PNEUMOCOCCAL POLYSACCHARIDE VACCINE IN SPLENECTOMIZED MICE - THE EFFECT OF RE-IMMUNIZATION WITH PNEUMOCOCCAL ANTIGENS, APMIS. Acta pathologica, microbiologica et immunologica Scandinavica, 104(4), 1996, pp. 307-317
Splenectomized individuals are at increased risk of acquiring fulminan
t pneumococcal infections. In an experimental mouse model, we have stu
died how removal of the spleen influences the anti-pneumococcal antibo
dy response to s.c. primary immunization with a 23-valent pneumococcal
polysaccharide vaccine and to re-immunization 5 months later. In sple
nectomized BALB/c mice the antibody response to serotypes 1, 4, 7F, an
d 19F was reduced both after the first and after the second immunizati
on compared to in normal mice. In contrast, splenectomized and normal
CBA/J mice produced similar antibody levels to serotypes 1 and 4 after
the second immunization, although the response to these serotypes was
reduced in splenectomized mice after the first immunization. After i.
v. injection with heat-killed pneumococci serotype 4, splenectomized B
ALB/c mice that had been immunized 5 months earlier with 23-valent vac
cine were able to mount higher antibody levels which were reached earl
ier than in unprimed splenectomized mice. However, normal mice that ha
d been vaccinated 5 months earlier had the highest antibody levels aft
er immunization with pneumococci. Our results indicate that although s
plenectomized mice generally do not reach as high antibody levels as a
re seen in normal mice after pneumococcal immunization, they benefit f
rom previous immunization with regard to antibody levels when given a
second antigen challenge.