Association of baseline cytokines with antibody concentrations after diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis booster vaccination in Finnish children

Denise Anabe; Johanna T Teräsjärvi; Alex-Mikael Barkoff; Aapo Knuutila; Bernd Pape; Pieter van Gageldonk; Annemarie Buisman; Jussi Mertsola; Qiushui He

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126573

Association of baseline cytokines with antibody concentrations after diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis booster vaccination in Finnish children

Vaccine. 2024 Nov 30:126573. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126573. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Denise Anabe¹, Johanna T Teräsjärvi², Alex-Mikael Barkoff³, Aapo Knuutila⁴, Bernd Pape⁵, Pieter van Gageldonk⁶, Annemarie Buisman⁷, Jussi Mertsola⁸, Qiushui He⁹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biomedicine, Research Centre for Infections and Immunity, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Electronic address: daanab@utu.fi.
² Institute of Biomedicine, Research Centre for Infections and Immunity, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Electronic address: johter@utu.fi.
³ Institute of Biomedicine, Research Centre for Infections and Immunity, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Electronic address: ambark@utu.fi.
⁴ Institute of Biomedicine, Research Centre for Infections and Immunity, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland; Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland. Electronic address: aajukn@utu.fi.
⁵ Department of Biostatistics, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, 20520 Turku, Finland; Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Vaasa, 65101 Vaasa, Finland. Electronic address: bernd.pape@utu.fi.
⁶ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Bilthoven, the Netherlands. Electronic address: pieter.van.gageldonk@rivm.nl.
⁷ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Bilthoven, the Netherlands. Electronic address: annemarie.buisman@rivm.nl.
⁸ Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland; (J,M.). Electronic address: jusmer@utu.fi.
⁹ Institute of Biomedicine, Research Centre for Infections and Immunity, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland; InFLAMES Research Flagship Centre, University of Turku, Turku 20520, Finland. Electronic address: qiushui.he@utu.fi.

PMID: 39616006
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126573

Abstract

Background: Despite extensive vaccinations, pertussis remains endemic and epidemic in multiple countries. The persistence of cases can be partly attributed to the significant individual variation in vaccine responses. This study evaluated the association of baseline cytokines (before booster vaccination) on antibody concentrations to Tdap-vaccine antigens.

Methods: Healthy Finnish children (7-10y, n = 36), adolescents (11-15y, n = 37), young adults (20-34y, n = 25), and older adults (60-70y, n = 23) received a Tdap3-IPV booster. Serum antibodies against pertussis toxin (PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), pertactin (Prn), fimbriae 2/3, diphtheria toxoid (DT), and tetanus toxoid (TT), as well as PT neutralizing antibodies were measured before, one month, and one year after the booster. Baseline serum concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17 A and IL-17F were determined.

Results: The proportion of detectable and undetectable baseline cytokines varied between age groups 58.3 % of children had a higher proportion of detectable IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and IL-17F compared to adolescents (IL-5, 37.8 %; IL-10, 48.6 %; IL-13, 48.6 %; IL-17F, 37.7 %), young adults (IL-5, 36.0 %; IL-10, 28.0 %; IL-13, 36.0 %; IL-17F, 44.0 %), and older adults (IL-5, 26.1 %; IL-10, 21.7 %; IL-13, 39.1 %; IL-17F, 30.4 %). IFN-γ had a lower detectability in children (44.4 %) and young (40.0 %) and older adults (39.1 %) in contrast to adolescents (62.2 %). IL-2 was undetectable in all age groups while the proportion of detectable IL-17 A decreased with age. A mixed model showed that undetectable baseline levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-10, and IL-17 A were associated with higher antibody concentrations in children before and after vaccination, particularly against PT. Positive associations were observed in adolescents for anti-TT concentrations and young adults for anti-FHA IgA concentrations.

Conclusion: These findings indicate a possible role of existing cytokines in pertussis booster antibody concentrations in children and warrant further studies in different populations. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as the number of subjects is limited.

Keywords: Acellular vaccines; Antibodies; Cytokines; Pertussis.