Impaired HA-specific T follicular helper cell and antibody responses to influenza vaccination are linked to inflammation in humans

• Published in: eLife Vol. 10
• Main Authors: Hill, Danika L, Whyte, Carly E, Innocentin, Silvia, Lee, Jia Le, Dooley, James, Wang, Jiong, James, Eddie A, Lee, James C, Kwok, William W, Zand, Martin S, Liston, Adrian, Carr, Edward J, Linterman, Michelle A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge eLife Science Publications, Ltd 02.11.2021; eLife Sciences Publications Ltd; eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subjects: Age; ageing; Antibodies; Antigens; CD4 antigen; Cell differentiation; Cytokines; Flow cytometry; germinal centre; Health aspects; Hemagglutinins; Immunoglobulin G; Immunological memory; Immunology and Inflammation; Infectious diseases; Inflammation; Influenza; Influenza vaccines; Influenza viruses; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Major histocompatibility complex; Memory cells; Molecular modelling; Older people; Population; Proteins; Risk groups; T cell receptors; T cells; t follicular helper cells; Vaccination; Vaccines; Variables; Viral infections
• ISSN: 2050-084X; 2050-084X
• DOI: 10.7554/eLife.70554

Antibody production following vaccination can provide protective immunity to subsequent infection by pathogens such as influenza viruses. However, circumstances where antibody formation is impaired after vaccination, such as in older people, require us to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underpin successful vaccination in order to improve vaccine design for at-risk groups. Here, by studying the breadth of anti-haemagglutinin (HA) IgG, serum cytokines, and B and T cell responses by flow cytometry before and after influenza vaccination, we show that formation of circulating T follicular helper (cTfh) cells was associated with high-titre antibody responses. Using Major Histocompatability Complex (MHC) class II tetramers, we demonstrate that HA-specific cTfh cells can derive from pre-existing memory CD4+ T cells and have a diverse T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire. In older people, the differentiation of HA-specific cells into cTfh cells was impaired. This age-dependent defect in cTfh cell formation was not due to a contraction of the TCR repertoire, but rather was linked with an increased inflammatory gene signature in cTfh cells. Together, this suggests that strategies that temporarily dampen inflammation at the time of vaccination may be a viable strategy to boost optimal antibody generation upon immunisation of older people.