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Infection and Immunity, December 2001, p. 7583-7587, Vol. 69, No. 12
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.12.7583-7587.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines Overcome Splenic Dependency of Antibody Response to Pneumococcal Polysaccharides

Mijke A. Breukels,^1,* Andre Zandvoort,² Germie P. J. M. van den Dobbelsteen,³ Adrie van den Muijsenberg,¹ Monique E. Lodewijk,² Michel Beurret,³ Pieter A. Klok,² Wim Timens,² and Ger T. Rijkers¹

Department of Pediatric Immunology, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center, Utrecht, 3584 EA Utrecht,¹ Department of Pathology, University Hospital Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen,² and Laboratory for Vaccine Research, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, 3721 MA Bilthoven,³ The Netherlands

Received 9 July 2001/Returned for modification 14 August 2001/Accepted 19 September 2001

Protection against infections with Streptococcus pneumoniae depends on the presence of antibodies against capsular polysaccharides that facilitate phagocytosis. Asplenic patients are at increased risk for pneumococcal infections, since both phagocytosis and the initiation of the antibody response to polysaccharides take place in the spleen. Therefore, vaccination with pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines is recommended prior to splenectomy, which, as in the case of trauma, is not always feasible. We show that in rats, vaccination with a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine can induce good antibody responses even after splenectomy, particularly after a second dose. The spleen remains necessary for a fast, primary response to (blood-borne) polysaccharides, even when they are presented in a conjugated form. Coadministration of a conjugate vaccine with additional nonconjugated polysaccharides of other serotypes did not improve the response to the nonconjugated polysaccharides. We conclude that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines can be of value in protecting asplenic or hyposplenic patients against pneumococcal infections.

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^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center, KC03.068.0, Lundlaan 6, 3584 EA Utrecht, The Netherlands. Phone: 31 30 2504353. Fax: 31 30 2505311. E-mail address: M.Breukels{at}wkz.azu.nl.

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Infection and Immunity, December 2001, p. 7583-7587, Vol. 69, No. 12
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.12.7583-7587.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

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