Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Evidence for antigenic seniority in influenza A (H3N2) antibody responses in Southern China
AU - Lessler, Justin
AU - Riley, Steven
AU - Read, Jonathan M.
AU - Wang, Shuying
AU - Zhu, Huachen
AU - Smith, Gavin J. D.
AU - Guan, Yi
AU - Jiang, Chao Qiang
AU - Cummings, Derek A. T.
PY - 2012/7/19
Y1 - 2012/7/19
N2 - A key observation about the human immune response to repeated exposure to influenza A is that the first strain infecting an individual apparently produces the strongest adaptive immune response. Although antibody titers measure that response, the interpretation of titers to multiple strains - from the same sera - in terms of infection history is clouded by age effects, cross reactivity and immune waning. From July to September 2009, we collected serum samples from 151 residents of Guangdong Province, China, 7 to 81 years of age. Neutralization tests were performed against strains representing six antigenic clusters of H3N2 influenza circulating between 1968 and 2008, and three recent locally circulating strains. Patterns of neutralization titers were compared based on age at time of testing and age at time of the first isolation of each virus. Neutralization titers were highest for H3N2 strains that circulated in an individual's first decade of life (peaking at 7 years). Further, across strains and ages at testing, statistical models strongly supported a pattern of titers declining smoothly with age at the time a strain was first isolated. Those born 10 or more years after a strain emerged generally had undetectable neutralization titers to that strain (
AB - A key observation about the human immune response to repeated exposure to influenza A is that the first strain infecting an individual apparently produces the strongest adaptive immune response. Although antibody titers measure that response, the interpretation of titers to multiple strains - from the same sera - in terms of infection history is clouded by age effects, cross reactivity and immune waning. From July to September 2009, we collected serum samples from 151 residents of Guangdong Province, China, 7 to 81 years of age. Neutralization tests were performed against strains representing six antigenic clusters of H3N2 influenza circulating between 1968 and 2008, and three recent locally circulating strains. Patterns of neutralization titers were compared based on age at time of testing and age at time of the first isolation of each virus. Neutralization titers were highest for H3N2 strains that circulated in an individual's first decade of life (peaking at 7 years). Further, across strains and ages at testing, statistical models strongly supported a pattern of titers declining smoothly with age at the time a strain was first isolated. Those born 10 or more years after a strain emerged generally had undetectable neutralization titers to that strain (
KW - VIRUSES
KW - SIN
KW - EVOLUTION
KW - PATTERNS
U2 - 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002802
DO - 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002802
M3 - Journal article
VL - 8
JO - PLoS Pathogens
JF - PLoS Pathogens
SN - 1553-7374
IS - 7
M1 - 1002802
ER -