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Infect Immun, June 1998, p. 2866-2870, Vol. 66, No. 6
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Isotypes and Opsonophagocytosis of Pneumococcus Type 6B Antibodies Elicited in Infants and Adults by an Experimental Pneumococcus Type 6B-Tetanus Toxoid Vaccine

Gestur Vidarsson,1,dagger Sigurveig T. Sigurdardottir,1 Thorolfur Gudnason,2 Sveinn Kjartansson,3 Karl G. Kristinsson,4 Gunnhildur Ingolfsdottir,1 Steinn Jonsson,5 Helgi Valdimarsson,1 Gerald Schiffman,6 Rachel Schneerson,7 and Ingileif Jonsdottir1,*

Departments of Immunology,1 Pediatrics,2 and Microbiology,4 National University Hospital, Reykjavik Community Health Centre,3 and Department of Medicine, Reykjavik Hospital,5 Reykjavik, Iceland; State University of New York, New York, New York6; and National Institute of Child Health and Development, Bethesda, Maryland7

Received 30 December 1997/Returned for modification 5 February 1998/Accepted 25 March 1998

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major respiratory pathogen of infants, children, and the elderly. Polysaccharide vaccines have been useful in adult populations but do not elicit protective immunity in infants and young children. To enhance their immunogenicity, vaccines of pneumococcal polysaccharides conjugated to proteins are being developed. In this study antibody levels and opsonic activities were compared in sera of infants and adults injected with pneumococcal polysaccharide type 6B (Pn6B) conjugated to tetanus toxoid (TT) (Pn6B-TT). Healthy infants were injected with Pn6B-TT; group A was injected at 3, 4, and 6 months of age, and group B was injected at 7 and 9 months of age. A booster injection was given at 18 months. Adults were injected once. Antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and radioimmunoassay, and their functional activities were measured by opsonophagocytosis of radiolabelled pneumococci. In adults, increases in immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgG, IgA, IgG1, and IgG2 to Pn6B were observed. Infants reached adult levels of IgG1 anti-Pn6B after the primary injections. After the booster injection the infant groups had total IgG- and IgM-Pn6B antibody levels similar to those of adults. After the booster injection, IgG1 was the dominant infant anti-Pn6B isotype and at a level higher than in vaccinated adults, but IgA and IgG2 antibodies remained at very low levels. Opsonic activity increased significantly after Pn6B-TT injections; the highest infant sera showed opsonic activity comparable to that of vaccinated adults. Overall, opsonic activity correlated best with total and IgG anti-Pn6B antibodies (r = 0.741, r = 0.653, respectively; n = 35) and was highest in sera with high levels of all Pn6B antibody isotypes. The results indicate the protective potential of a pneumococcal 6B polysaccharide protein conjugate vaccine for young infants.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Immunology, National University Hospital, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland. Phone: 354 560 1962. Fax: 354 560 1943. E-mail: ingileif{at}rsp.is.

dagger Present address: Department of Immunology, University Hospital Utrecht (AZU), 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Infect Immun, June 1998, p. 2866-2870, Vol. 66, No. 6
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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Copyright © 1998 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.