Development of a simplified and convenient assay for cell-mediated immunity to the mumps virus

Genome-wide determinants of cellular immune responses to mumps vaccine

BACKGROUND

We have previously described genetic polymorphisms in candidate genes that are associated with inter-individual variations in antibody responses to mumps vaccination. To expand upon our previous work, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to discover host genetic variants associated with mumps vaccine-induced cellular immune responses.

METHODS

We performed a GWAS of mumps-specific immune response outcomes (11 secreted cytokines/chemokines) in a cohort of 1,406 subjects.

RESULTS

Among the 11 cytokine/chemokines we studied, four (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-1β, and TNFα) demonstrated GWAS signals reaching genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10-8). A genomic region (encoding Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-type lectins/SIGLEC) located on chromosome 19q13 (p < 5 × 10-8) was associated with both IL-1β and TNFα responses. The SIGLEC5/SIGLEC14 region contained 11 statistically significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including the intronic SIGLEC5 rs872629 (p = 1.3E-11) and rs1106476 (p = 1.32E-11) whose alternate alleles were significantly associated with decreased levels of mumps-specific IL-1β (rs872629, p = 1.77E-09; rs1106476, p = 1.78E-09) and TNFα (rs872629, p = 1.3E-11; rs1106476, p = 1.32E-11) production.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that SNPs in the SIGLEC5/SIGLEC14 genes play a role in cellular and inflammatory immune responses to mumps vaccination. These findings motivate further research into the functional roles of SIGLEC genes in the regulation of mumps vaccine-induced immunity.

Genome-Wide Determinants of Cellular Immune Responses to Mumps Vaccine

Background

We have previously described genetic polymorphisms in candidate genes that are associated with inter-individual variations in antibody responses to mumps vaccination. To expand upon our previous work, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to discover host genetic variants associated with mumps vaccine-induced cellular immune responses.

Methods

We performed a GWAS of mumps-specific immune response outcomes (11 secreted cytokines/chemokines) in a cohort of 1,406 subjects.

Results

Among the 11 cytokine/chemokines we studied, four (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-1β, and TNFα) demonstrated GWAS signals reaching genome-wide significance (p<5 x 10 -8 ). A genomic region (encoding Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-type lectins/SIGLEC) located on chromosome 19q13 (p<5×10 -8 ) was associated with both IL-1β and TNFα responses. The SIGLEC5/SIGLEC14 region contained 11 statistically significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including the intronic SIGLEC5 rs872629 (p=1.3E-11) and rs1106476 (p=1.32E-11) whose alternate alleles were significantly associated with decreased levels of mumps-specific IL-1β (rs872629, p=1.77E-09; rs1106476, p=1.78E-09) and TNFα (rs872629, p=1.3E-11; rs1106476, p=1.32E-11) production.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that SNPs in the SIGLEC5/SIGLEC14 genes play a role in cellular and inflammatory immune responses to mumps vaccination. These findings motivate further research into the functional roles of SIGLEC genes in the regulation of mumps vaccine-induced immunity.

Relationship between the frequency of influenza vaccination and cell-mediated immunity

Despite established guidelines for population-level assessments of immunity after vaccination, standard methods for individual-level analyses have not been established, limiting the ability to optimize vaccination strategies within a particular season. In this study, we evaluated changes in cell-mediated immunity (CMI) with respect to the number of influenza vaccine doses. In particular, the influenza vaccine was administered to 21 adults during the 2015-2016 season. IFN-γ production induced by the influenza vaccine antigens [A (H1N1), A (H3N2), B (Yamagata lineage), and B (Victoria lineage)] increased after the first dose of vaccination in 11, 10, 10, and 11 subjects, respectively. In 5 of 10 (H1N1), 4 of 10 (H3N2), 3 of 9 (Yamagata lineage), and 3 of 8 (Victoria lineage) subjects who did not exhibit an increase in IFN-γ production after the first dose, CMI was enhanced after the second dose. The production of IFN-γ increased after the first or second dose of the vaccine in 16, 14, 13, and 14 of the 21 subjects, respectively. The results of this study showed that two doses of the influenza vaccine effectively enhance CMI in subjects with primary vaccine failure.

Evaluation of influenza vaccine-immunogenicity in cell-mediated immunity

The immunological effect of influenza vaccines cannot be evaluated accurately using an antibody titer. Therefore, we used a new method that measures cell-mediated immunity to investigate changes in the amount of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) produced after vaccination in response to the vaccine antigen. The study was conducted during the 2014-2015 influenza season in 23 adults, using a vaccine that contained three types of antigen. The IFN-γ level increased by at least 1.5 times in 65% (15/23) of cases in response to the H1N1 antigen, in 57% (13/23) of cases in response to the H3N2 antigen, and in 57% (13/23) of cases in response to the B antigen. During the study period, 4 subjects developed type A influenza. Our data showed that the IFN-γ level did not increase by 1.5 times in these subjects. We propose that the efficacy of influenza vaccines may be evaluated by measuring changes in the level of IFN-γ produced in response to influenza vaccine.