WEDNESDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) -- The duration of humoral immunity to common viral antigens is remarkably long, but its duration to common vaccine antigens is somewhat shorter, according to a report published in the Nov. 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Ian J. Amanna, Ph.D., of the Oregon Health & Science University in Beaverton, Ore., and colleagues followed 45 subjects for up to 26 years, measuring antibody titers specific for six viral antigens (vaccinia, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella-zoster, and Epstein-Barr) and two non-replicating antigens (tetanus and diphtheria). They also measured antigen-specific memory B cells and compared memory B-cell frequencies to their corresponding serum antibody levels.
The researchers estimated that the half-lives of antiviral antibody responses ranged from about 50 years for varicella-zoster virus to more than 200 years for other viruses such as measles and mumps, and that the half-lives of antibody responses against tetanus and diphtheria were 11 years and 19 years, respectively. Although the investigators found that B-cell memory was long-lived, they could find no significant association between peripheral memory B-cell numbers and antibody levels for five of the eight antigens.
"In cases in which multiple exposures or repeated vaccinations were common, memory B-cell numbers did not correlate with antibody titers," the authors conclude. "This finding suggests that peripheral memory B cells and antibody-secreting plasma cells may represent independently regulated cell populations and may play different roles in the maintenance of protective immunity."
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
