K. Nagaraju et al., LACK OF IN-VITRO LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE RESPONSE TO HEPATITIS-B SURFACE-ANTIGEN IN HEALTHY VACCINE RECIPIENTS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH, 108, 1998, pp. 80-84
Citations number
21
Categorie Soggetti
Medicine, General & Internal","Medicine, Research & Experimental",Immunology
A majority of HBsAg vaccine recipients show good anti-HBs antibody res
ponses but poor antigen specific lymphoproliferative responses. We inv
estigated the basis for this poor in vitro antigen specific proliferat
ive responsiveness in vaccinees who had received the standard three do
se schedule (0, 1 and 6 months) of plasma derived HBsAg vaccine. Perip
heral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 26 of 29 (89.7%) vaccinees f
ailed to show lymphoproliferative responses to HBsAg in spite of havin
g a very good anti-HBs antibody response (geometric mean titre 3154 IU
/l). The mitogen (phytohaemagglutinin, PHA) and antigen (purified prot
ein derivative, PPD) driven lymphoproliferative responses in these ind
ividuals were normal. Addition of exogenous recombinant interleukin-2
(rIL-2) along with HBsAg had no effect in the response to HBsAg in six
of nine vaccinees, who were tested six months after the third vaccine
dose or in four unvaccinated controls. However, in three vaccinees. w
ho did not have lymphoproliferative response to HBsAg alone, addition
of exogenous rIL-2 resulted in a synergistic response. These data sugg
est that HBsAg reactive cells are few in the peripheral circulation of
a majority of individuals following the standard three dose schedule
of vaccination and addition of exogenous rIL-2 induces a response only
in a subgroup of individuals. The inability of HBsAg to induce a T ce
ll proliferative response may have implications for the maintenance of
protective immunity and immunological memory following vaccination.