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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Antigen-specific immune responses to influenza vaccine in utero.

Authors: Rastogi, Deepa; Wang, Chaodong; Mao, Xia; Lendor, Cynthia; Rothman, Paul B; Miller, Rachel L

Published In J Clin Invest, (2007 Jun)

Abstract: Initial immune responses to allergens may occur before birth, thereby modulating the subsequent development of atopy. This paradigm remains controversial, however, due to the inability to identify antigen-specific T cells in cord blood. The advent of MHC tetramers has revolutionized the detection of antigen-specific T cells. Tetramer staining of cord blood after CMV infection has demonstrated that effective CD8(+) antigen-specific immune responses can follow intrauterine viral infections. We hypothesized that sensitization to antigens occurs in utero in humans. We studied cord blood B and T cell immune responses following vaccination against influenza during pregnancy. Anti-Fluzone and anti-matrix protein IgM antibodies were detected in 38.5% (27 of 70) and 40.0% (28 of 70), respectively, of cord blood specimens. Using MHC tetramers, HA-specific CD4(+) T cells were detected among 25.0% (3 of 12) and 42.9% (6 of 14) of cord blood specimens possessing DRB1*0101 and DRB1*0401 HLA types, respectively, and were detected even when the DRB1 HLA type was inherited from the father. Matrix protein-specific CD8(+) T cells were detected among 10.0% (2 of 20) of HLA-A*0201(+) newborns. These results suggest that B and T cell immune responses occur in the fetus following vaccination against influenza and have important implications for determining when immune responses to environmental exposures begin.

PubMed ID: 17549258 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adult; B-Lymphocytes/immunology; Cohort Studies; Female; Fetal Blood/immunology; HLA-A Antigens/metabolism; HLA-A2 Antigen; HLA-DR Antigens/metabolism; HLA-DRB1 Chains; Humans; Immunity, Maternally-Acquired*; Immunoglobulin M/blood; In Vitro Techniques; Infant, Newborn; Influenza Vaccines/administration & dosage; Influenza Vaccines/immunology*; Male; Pregnancy; T-Lymphocytes/immunology

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