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J Korean Med Sci.  2016 Jun;31(6):950-956. 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.6.950.

Impact of IgM Antibodies on Cross-Protection against Pneumococcal Serogroups 6 and 19 after Immunization with 7-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Children

Affiliations
  • 1Center for Vaccine Evaluation and Study, Medical Research Institute, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. kaykim@ewha.ac.kr
  • 2Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea.
  • 3Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
  • 4Department of Pediatrics, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Although it is well known that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines provide cross-protection against some vaccine-related serotypes, these mechanisms are still unclear. This study was performed to investigate the role of cross-protective IgM antibodies against vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A induced in children aged 12-23 months after immunization with 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). We obtained serum samples from 18 Korean children aged 12-23 months after a PCV7 booster immunization. The serum IgG and IgM concentrations of serotypes 6B and 19F were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in serum. The opsonic indices (OIs) against vaccine serotypes 6B and 19F and vaccine-related serotypes 6A, 6C, and 19A were determined by an opsonophagocytic killing assay (OPA) in IgM-depleted and control serum. Both IgG and IgM antibodies in ELISA and opsonic indices in OPA against serotypes 6B and 19F were demonstrated in the immune serum. IgM depletion decreased the OIs against vaccine serotypes 6B (geometric means of OIs (GMIs) of 3,009 vs. 1,396, 38% reduction) and 19F (1,117 vs. 750, 36% reduction). In addition, IgM depletion markedly decreased the OIs against vaccine-related serotypes 6A (GMIs of 961 vs. 329, 70% reduction), 6C (432 vs. 185, 72% reduction), and 19A (301 vs. 166, 58% reduction). The booster immunization PCV7 induced protective antibodies in the form of both IgG and IgM isotypes. IgM antibodies contributed to eliciting cross-protection against vaccine-related serotypes as well as against vaccine serotypes.

Keyword

Streptococcus pneumoniae; Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine; Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Type 6; Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Type 19; Immunoglobulin M

MeSH Terms

Antibodies, Bacterial/blood
Antibodies, Neutralizing/blood
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine/*immunology
Humans
Immunoglobulin M/*blood
Infant
Pneumococcal Infections/*prevention & control
Pneumococcal Vaccines/*immunology
Serogroup
Streptococcus pneumoniae/immunology
Antibodies, Bacterial
Antibodies, Neutralizing
Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine
Immunoglobulin M
Pneumococcal Vaccines
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