Antiviral responses induced by Tdap-IPV vaccination are associated with persistent humoral immunity to Bordetella pertussis

Many countries continue to experience pertussis epidemics despite widespread vaccination. Waning protection after booster vaccination has highlighted the need for a better understanding of the immunological factors that promote durable protection. Here we apply systems vaccinology to investigate antibody responses in adolescents in the Netherlands (N = 14; NL) and the United Kingdom (N = 12; UK) receiving a tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis-inactivated poliovirus (Tdap-IPV) vaccine. We report that early antiviral and interferon gene expression signatures in blood correlate to persistence of pertussis-specific antibody responses. Single-cell analyses of the innate response identified monocytes and myeloid dendritic cells (MoDC) as principal responders that upregulate antiviral gene expression and type-I interferon cytokine production. With public data, we show that Tdap vaccination stimulates significantly lower antiviral/type-I interferon responses than Tdap-IPV, suggesting that IPV may promote antiviral gene expression. Subsequent in vitro stimulation experiments demonstrate TLR-dependent, IPV-specific activation of the pro-inflammatory p38 MAP kinase pathway in MoDCs. Together, our data provide insights into the molecular host response to pertussis booster vaccination and demonstrate that IPV enhances innate immune activity associated with persistent, pertussis-specific antibody responses.

Pertussis toxin neutralizing antibody response after an acellular booster vaccination in Dutch and Finnish participants of different age groups

Pertussis incidence has increased in many countries and the disease occurs among all age groups, suggesting the need for booster immunizations through life. In addition to determining the concentration of anti-pertussis toxin (PT) antibodies, the ability of PT neutralizing antibodies (PTNAs) could be used to assess vaccine responses.

Altogether 258 participants [7–10-year-old (N = 73), 11–15-year-old (N = 85), 20–35-year-old (N = 50) and 60–70-year-old (N = 50)] were included. Sera were collected before, one month, and one year after a single dose of a three pertussis component containing acellular pertussis vaccine. The adolescents were primed in childhood either by acellular or whole-cell vaccination. PTNA titres were determined by a Chinese hamster ovary cell assay and anti-PT IgG/IgA antibody concentrations by multiplex immunoassay.

In all age groups, a significant increase in levels of PTNAs and anti-PT IgG was observed one month after vaccination and remained at least two-fold higher one year post-booster, in comparison to pre-booster. Young adults had the lowest response. The strongest increase in PTNAs was observed in participants who had ≥10 IU/mL concentration of anti-PT IgG antibodies pre-booster. At pre-booster, whole-cell-primed adolescents had higher PTNAs than acellular-primed peers (p = 0.047). One year post-booster, the Finnish whole-cell-primed adolescents had a higher level of PTNAs than acellular-primed adolescents (p = 0.049), however, this was not observed in Dutch adolescents. In conclusion, PTNAs increased after vaccination in all age groups, and the strongest increase was related to the presence of high pre-booster antibodies.

Development of a standardized and validated flow cytometry approach for monitoring of innate myeloid immune cells in human blood

Innate myeloid cell (IMC) populations form an essential part of innate immunity. Flow cytometric (FCM) monitoring of IMCs in peripheral blood (PB) has great clinical potential for disease monitoring due to their role in maintenance of tissue homeostasis and ability to sense micro-environmental changes, such as inflammatory processes and tissue damage. However, the lack of standardized and validated approaches has hampered broad clinical implementation. For accurate identification and separation of IMC populations, 62 antibodies against 44 different proteins were evaluated. In multiple rounds of EuroFlow-based design-testing-evaluation-redesign, finally 16 antibodies were selected for their non-redundancy and separation power. Accordingly, two antibody combinations were designed for fast, sensitive, and reproducible FCM monitoring of IMC populations in PB in clinical settings (11-color; 13 antibodies) and translational research (14-color; 16 antibodies). Performance of pre-analytical and analytical variables among different instruments, together with optimized post-analytical data analysis and reference values were assessed. Overall, 265 blood samples were used for design and validation of the antibody combinations and in vitro functional assays, as well as for assessing the impact of sample preparation procedures and conditions. The two (11- and 14-color) antibody combinations allowed for robust and sensitive detection of 19 and 23 IMC populations, respectively. Highly reproducible identification and enumeration of IMC populations was achieved, independently of anticoagulant, type of FCM instrument and center, particularly when database/software-guided automated (vs. manual “expert-based”) gating was used. Whereas no significant changes were observed in identification of IMC populations for up to 24h delayed sample processing, a significant impact was observed in their absolute counts after >12h delay. Therefore, accurate identification and quantitation of IMC populations requires sample processing on the same day. Significantly different counts were observed in PB for multiple IMC populations according to age and sex. Consequently, PB samples from 116 healthy donors (8-69 years) were used for collecting age and sex related reference values for all IMC populations. In summary, the two antibody combinations and FCM approach allow for rapid, standardized, automated and reproducible identification of 19 and 23 IMC populations in PB, suited for monitoring of innate immune responses in clinical and translational research settings.

Memory B Cell Activation Induced by Pertussis Booster Vaccination in Four Age Groups of Three Countries

Background

Immunogenicity of acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines is conventionally assessed by measuring antibody responses but antibody concentrations wane quickly after vaccination. Memory B cells, however, are critical in sustaining long-term protection and therefore may be an important factor when assessing pertussis immunity after vaccination.

Aim

We studied pertussis specific memory B cell (re)activation induced by an aP booster vaccination in four different age groups within three countries.

Materials and methods

From a phase IV longitudinal interventional study, 268 participants across Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were included and received a 3-component pertussis booster vaccine: children (7-10y, n=53), adolescents (11-15y, n=66), young adults (20-34y, n=74), and older adults (60-70y, n=75). Memory B cells at baseline, day 28, and 1 year post-vaccination were measured by a pertussis toxin (Ptx), filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA), and pertactin (Prn) specific ELISpot assay. Antibody results measured previously were available for comparison. Furthermore, study participants were distributed into groups based on their baseline memory B cell frequencies, vaccine responses were monitored between these groups.

Results

Geometric mean (GM) memory B cell frequencies for pertussis antigens at baseline were low. At 28 days post-vaccination, these frequencies increased within each age group and were still elevated one year post-booster compared to baseline. Highest frequencies at day 28 were found within adolescents (GM: 5, 21, and 13, for Ptx, FHA and Prn, respectively) and lowest within older adults (GM: 2, 9, and 3, respectively). Moderate to strong correlations between memory B cell frequencies at day 28 and antibody concentrations at day 28 and 1 year were observed for Prn. Memory B cell frequencies > 1 per 100,000 PBMCs at baseline were associated with significantly higher memory responses after 28 days and 1 year.

Conclusions

An aP booster vaccine (re)activated memory B cells in all age groups. Still elevated memory B cell frequencies after one year indicates enhanced immunological memory. However, antigen specific memory B cell activation seems weaker in older adults, which might reflect immunosenescence. Furthermore, the presence of circulating memory B cells at baseline positively affects memory B cell responses. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu: No. 2016-003678-42.

More than 10 years after introduction of an acellular pertussis vaccine in infancy: a cross-sectional serosurvey of pertussis in the Netherlands

Background

Pertussis is a respiratory disease and still endemic despite high vaccination coverage. In the Dutch national immunisation programme (NIP) whole cell pertussis (wP) priming vaccines for infants were replaced by acellular pertussis (aP) priming vaccines in 2005. Serosurveillance gives the opportunity to objectively monitor effects of changes in the NIP on infection prevalence and vaccine response in the population over time.

Methods

For this population-based cross-sectional serosurvey a representative sample of Dutch residents (0-89 years) was drawn in 2016/2017. Primary outcome was the percentage of participants with pertussis toxin specific antibody concentrations ≥ 100 IU/ml as an indicator of recent infection, and to identify groups possibly more vulnerable to pertussis infection. Percentages were compared with previous results from 2006/2007.

Findings

In total 7621 persons were included in the analysis. An increase in recent infections from 3•5% to 5•9% was found in the population from 7 years and older (n=6013) in 2016/2017 compared with 2006/2007. Most noteworthy increase was seen in 12-18-year-olds who were wP primed and aP boosted.

Interpretation

Infection prevalence is still increasing in the Netherlands inducing a risk of pertussis disease in vulnerable (age) groups. Delaying the preschool booster might prolong the period of protection during primary school and thereby possibly protect younger siblings. Extra boosters might be considered for risk populations like older adults and people with (pulmonary) co-morbidities, since they have higher chances of complications and hospitalisation.

An unedited Dutch translation of the abstract is available in Supplementary text 1: Nederlandse samenvatting.

Funding

The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport.

Responses to an acellular pertussis booster vaccination in children, adolescents, and young and older adults: A collaborative study in Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom

Background

Pertussis can lead to serious disease and even death in infants. Older adults are more vulnerable to complications as well. In high-income countries, acellular pertussis vaccines are used for priming vaccination. In the administration of booster vaccinations to different age groups and target populations there is a substantial between-country variation. We investigated the effect of age on the response to acellular pertussis booster vaccination in three European countries.

Methods

This phase IV longitudinal intervention study performed in Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom between October 2017 and January 2019 compared the vaccine responses between healthy participants of four age groups: children (7–10y), adolescents (11–15y), young adults (20–34y), and older adults (60–70y). All participants received a three-component acellular pertussis vaccine. Serum IgG and IgA antibody concentrations to pertussis antigens at day 0, 28, and 1 year were measured with a multiplex immunoassay, using pertussis toxin concentrations at day 28 as primary outcome. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrialsRegister.eu (2016–003,678–42).

Findings

Children (n = 109), adolescents (n = 121), young adults (n = 74), and older adults (n = 75) showed high IgG antibody concentrations to pertussis toxin at day 28 with GMCs of 147 (95% CI 120–181), 161 (95% CI 132–196), 103 (95% CI 80–133), and 121 IU/ml (95% CI 94–155), respectively. A significant increase in GMCs for vaccine antigens in all age groups by 28 days was found which had decreased by 1 year. Differences in patterns of IgG GMCs at 28 days and 1 year post-vaccination did not have a consistent relationship to age. In contrast, IgA antibodies for all antigens increased with age at all timepoints.

Interpretation

Acellular pertussis booster vaccination induces significant serum IgG responses to pertussis antigens across the age range which are not uniformly less in older adults. Acellular boosters could be considered for older adults to reduce the health and economic burden of pertussis.

Uncovering Distinct Primary Vaccination-Dependent Profiles in Human Bordetella Pertussis Specific CD4+ T-Cell Responses Using a Novel Whole Blood Assay

To advance research and development of improved pertussis vaccines, new immunoassays are needed to qualify the outcome of Bordetella pertussis (Bp) specific CD4+ T-cell differentiation. Here, we applied a recently developed whole blood assay to evaluate Bp specific CD4+ T-cell responses. The assay is based on intracellular cytokine detection after overnight in vitro Bp antigen stimulation of diluted whole blood. We show for the first time that CD4+ T-cell memory of Th1, Th2, and Th17 lineages can be identified simultaneously in whole blood. Participants ranging from 7 to 70 years of age with different priming backgrounds of whole-cell pertussis (wP) and acellular pertussis (aP) vaccination were analyzed around an acellular booster vaccination. The assay allowed detection of low frequent antigen-specific CD4+ T-cells and revealed significantly elevated numbers of activated and cytokine-producing CD4+ T-cells, with a significant tendency to segregate recall responses based on primary vaccination background. A stronger Th2 response hallmarked an aP primed cohort compared to a wP primed cohort. In conclusion, analysis of Bp specific CD4+ T-cell responses in whole blood showed separation based on vaccination background and provides a promising tool to assess the quantity and quality of CD4+ T-cell responses induced by vaccine candidates.