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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Western Human Nutrition Research Center » Immunity and Disease Prevention Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #330199
Title: Comparisons of the effect of naturally acquired maternal pertussis antibodies and antenatal vaccination induced maternal tetanus antibodies on infant's antibody secreting lymphocyte responses and circulating plasma antibody

Author
item AHMAD, SHAIKH - Dhaka University
item ALAM, JAHANGIR - Dhaka University
item AFSAR, NURE - Dhaka University
item HUDA, NAZMUL - Dhaka University
item KABIR, YEARUL - Dhaka University
item QADRI, FIRDAUSI - Dhaka University
item RAQIB, RUBHANA - Dhaka University
item Stephensen, Charles

Submitted to: Taylor and Francis Group
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/23/2015
Publication Date: 5/13/2016
Citation: Ahmad, S.M., Alam, J., Afsar, N.A., Huda, N., Kabir, Y., Qadri, F., Raqib, R., Stephensen, C.B. 2016. Comparisons of the effect of naturally acquired maternal pertussis antibodies and antenatal vaccination induced maternal tetanus antibodies on infant's antibody secreting lymphocyte responses and circulating plasma antibody. Taylor and Francis Group. 12/886-893.

Interpretive Summary: Immunization during early infancy is an important measure for protecting infants against the development of infectious diseases, including pertussis and tetanus. One consideration in the timing of these vaccinations is a determination of whether or not serum antibody transferred to the infant from the mother during pregnancy may interfere with the efficacy of a particular vaccine. For example, in some settings where maternal serum antibody levels against measles virus are high, infant measles vaccines are delayed until one year of age, when maternally acquired antibody levels have waned. In the present study of infants immunized with tetanus toxoid and pertussis vaccines between 6 and 14 weeks of age, maternal anti-tetanus antibody titers interfered with the infants anti-tetanus vaccine response at 15 weeks of age and, to a less significant degree, at one year of age. These data suggest that vaccination schedules might need to be reevaluated when maternal anti-tetanus antibody titers are high, though all of the infants in the present study did have adequate, protective titers at 1 year of age.

Technical Abstract: The goal of this study was to explore the effects of trans-placental tetanus toxoid (TT) and pertussis (PT) antibodies on an infant's response to vaccination in the context of antenatal immunization with tetanus but not with pertussis. 38 mothers received a single dose of TT vaccine during pregnancy. Infants received tetanus and pertussis vaccines at 6, 10 and 14 wk of age. TT and PT anti-IgG secretion by infant lymphocytes was measured at 15 wk. Plasma antibodies were measured at 6 wk (pre-vaccination), 15 wk and 1 y of age. Prior to vaccination, TT and PT antibody were detected in 94.6% and 15.2% of infants. At 15 wk anti-TT-IgG and anti-PT-IgG in plasma was increased by 7-9 fold over pre-vaccination levels, while at 1 y plasma anti-TT-IgG was decreased by approximately 5-fold from the peak and had returned to near the pre-vaccination level. At 1 y plasma anti-PT-IgG was decreased by 2-fold 1 yfrom the 15 wk level. However, 89.5% and 82.3% of infants at 1 y had protective levels of anti-TT and anti-PT IgG, respectively. Pre-vaccination plasma IgG levels were associated with lower vaccine-specific IgG secretion by infant lymphocytes at 15 wk (p < 0.10). This apparent inhibition was seen for anti-TT-IgG at both 15 wk (p < 0.05) and t 1 y (p < 0.10) of age. In summary, we report an apparent inhibitory effect of passively derived maternal antibody on an infants' own antibody response to the same vaccine. However, since the cut-off values for protective titers are low, infants had protective antibody levels throughout infancy.