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Predominant Influence of Environmental Determinants on the Persistence and Avidity Maturation of Antibody Responses to Vaccines in Infants

Marchant, Arnaud ; Pihlgren, Maria ; Goetghebuer, Tessa ; Weiss, Helen A. ; Ota, Martin O. C. ; Schlegel-Hauter, Susana E. ; Whittle, Hilton ; Lambert, Paul-Henri ; Newport, Melanie J. ; Siegrist, Claire-Anne

In: The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2006, vol. 193, no. 11, p. 1598-1605

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    Title
    • Predominant Influence of Environmental Determinants on the Persistence and Avidity Maturation of Antibody Responses to Vaccines in Infants
    Author
    • Marchant, Arnaud. Institute for Medical Immunology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, and
    • Pihlgren, Maria. World Health Organisation Collaborative Centre for Neonatal Vaccinology, Departments of Pathology-Immunology and Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Switzerland
    • Goetghebuer, Tessa. Department of Pediatrics, Hôpital Saint-Pierre, Brussels, Belgium
    • Weiss, Helen A.. Medical Research Council Tropical Epidemiology Group, Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, and
    • Ota, Martin O. C.. Medical Research Council Laboratories, Banjul, The Gambia
    • Schlegel-Hauter, Susana E.. World Health Organisation Collaborative Centre for Neonatal Vaccinology, Departments of Pathology-Immunology and Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Switzerland
    • Whittle, Hilton. Medical Research Council Laboratories, Banjul, The Gambia
    • Lambert, Paul-Henri. World Health Organisation Collaborative Centre for Neonatal Vaccinology, Departments of Pathology-Immunology and Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Switzerland
    • Newport, Melanie J.. Medical Research Council Laboratories, Banjul, The Gambia
    • Siegrist, Claire-Anne. World Health Organisation Collaborative Centre for Neonatal Vaccinology, Departments of Pathology-Immunology and Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2006, vol. 193, no. 11, p. 1598-1605. The University of Chicago Press
    Other Version
    Classification
    • Health
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:301199
    Summary
    BackgroundImmune responses are complex traits influenced by genetic and environmental factors. We previously reported that genetic factors control early antibody responses to vaccines in Gambian infants. For the present study, we evaluated the determinants of the memory phase of immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses MethodsAntibody responses to tetanus toxoid (TT), measles vaccines, and environmental antigens (total IgG levels) were measured in 210 Gambian twin pairs recruited at birth. Intrapair correlations for monozygous and dizygous pairs were compared to estimate the environmental and genetic components of variations in response ResultsIn contrast to antibody responses measured in infants at age 5 months, 1 month after immunization, no significant contribution of genetic factors to anti-TT antibody and total IgG levels was detected at age 12 months. Genetic factors controlled measles antibody responses in 12-month-old infants, which indicates that the increasing influence of environmental determinants on anti-TT responses was not related to the older age of the children but, rather, to the time elapsed since immunization. Environmental factors also predominantly controlled affinity maturation and the production of high-avidity antibodies to TT ConclusionsGenetic determinants control the early phase of the vaccine antibody response in Gambian infants, whereas environmental determinants predominantly influence antibody persistence and avidity maturation