PREDICTORS OF VARIATION IN RESPONSE TO INFLUENZA VACCINATION
J.M. Kinnard, C.L. Coe
University of Wisconsin-Madison
22 N. Charter St.
Madison, WI 53715
Several recent studies have indicated that psychological factors can significantly influence the risk for viral infection, and hinder the protective value of vaccination, especially in the elderly. Our study investigated the basis for individual differences in response to vaccines further, using a nonhuman primate model. The infectious disease of interest was influenza because this is a significant viral pathogen in both animals and humans. Moreover, up to 1/3 of elderly humans do not mount a protective antibody response even after immunization. Thirty-nine young and aged rhesus monkeys were immunized on two occasions with trivalent flu vaccine. The old monkeys (over 19 years of age) mounted a significantly smaller primary and secondary antibody response. The dynamics of the primary response were also different, with younger monkeys showing rising titers of antibody from 2-4 weeks post-immunization, whereas older animals tended to decline by week 4. However, the booster vaccination increased antibody levels in the old animals the level seen in the young adults after their first vaccination. Our study also assessed the value of other host characteristics, including hair quality, nail growth rate, and adrenal hormone levels, for predicting the efficacy of vaccination. A second study has been assessing the effects of different social conditions (single vs. pair-housing) on antibody response and cytokine production in aged animals. The goal of this research is to provide biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of immunization and also to use these measures to investigate the influence of psychosocial processes on health and immune senescence.
Key words:
influenza vaccination, booster, nonhuman primates
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