Different Dynamics for IgG and IgA Memory B Cells in Adolescents following a Meningococcal Serogroup C Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate Booster Vaccination Nine Years after Priming: A Role for Priming Age?

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 10; no. 10; p. e0138665
• Main Authors: Stoof, Susanne P, Buisman, Anne-Marie, van Rooijen, Debbie M, Boonacker, Rianne, van der Klis, Fiona R M, Sanders, Elisabeth A M, Berbers, Guy A M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 12.10.2015; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Age; Aging - immunology; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Antibodies, Bacterial - immunology; Antibodies, Bacterial - metabolism; Antigens; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Child; Children; Correlation; Disease control; Health aspects; Health care; Humans; Immunization, Secondary; Immunoassay; Immunoglobulin A; Immunoglobulin A - blood; Immunoglobulin A - immunology; Immunoglobulin A - metabolism; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin G - immunology; Immunoglobulin G - metabolism; Immunologic Memory; Immunological memory; Immunology; Infectious diseases; Lymphocytes B; Measurement methods; Memory cells; Meningococcal Vaccines - immunology; Neisseria meningitidis; Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup C - immunology; Physiological aspects; Priming; Proteins; Public health; Saliva; Saliva - metabolism; Systematic review; Teenagers; Tetanus; Vaccination; Vaccines; Netherlands
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138665

Antibody levels wane rapidly after Meningococcal serogroup C conjugate (MenCC) vaccination in young children, rendering the need for an adolescent booster dose. It is not clear whether circulating memory B cells are associated with persistence of MenC-specific antibody levels. Measurement of MenC-specific IgG and IgA memory B cells and levels of serum and salivary MenC-specific IgG and IgA in healthy 10-, 12- and 15-year-olds prior to and one month and one year after a MenCC booster vaccination. All participants had received a primary MenCC vaccination nine years earlier. The number of circulating MenC-specific IgG memory B cells prior to booster was low and not predictive for MenC-specific IgG responses in serum or saliva post-booster, whereas the number of MenC-specific IgA memory B cells pre-booster positively correlated with MenC-specific IgA levels in saliva post-booster (R = 0.5, P<0.05). The booster induced a clear increase in the number of MenC-specific IgG and IgA memory B cells. The number of MenC-PS-specific IgG memory B cells at 1 month post-booster was highest in the 12-year-olds. The number of MenC-specific memory B cells at one month post-booster showed no correlation with the rate of MenC-specific antibody decay throughout the first year post-booster. Circulating MenC-specific IgA memory B cells correlate with IgA responses in saliva, whereas circulating MenC-specific IgG memory B cells are not predictive for MenC-specific IgG responses in serum or saliva. Our results are suggestive for age-dependent differences in pre-existing memory against MenC.