Immune response to pneumococcal polysaccharides 4 and 14 in elderly and young adults: analysis of the variable light chain repertoire.

ABSTRACT: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a human bacterial pathogen responsible for serious infections including pneumonia. The currently licensed polysaccharide vaccine provides 60 to 80% protection in young adults, but in the elderly the vaccine efficacy is drastically reduced despite normal antibody levels. We hypothesized that the reduced vaccine efficacy in the elderly results from altered variable gene family usage. We have analyzed the light chain gene usage in 20 young (20 to 30 years of age) and 20 elderly (65 to 86 years of age) adults in response to pneumococcal polysaccharide 4 (PPS4) and PPS14. We generated a variable light chain library using B cells specific for PPS4 and PPS14 from each vaccinated individual. We determined complete sequences and somatic mutation frequencies in all isolat

SUBMITTER: Smithson SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1273897 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature