Influenza infected newborn and adult monkeys exhibit a strong primary antibody response to hemagglutinin stem

[tetano]

JCI Insight. 2020 Feb 20. pii: 135449. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.135449. [Epub ahead of print] Influenza infected newborn and adult monkeys exhibit a strong primary antibody response to hemagglutinin stem.

Clemens EA¹, Angeletti D², Holbrook BC¹, Kanekiyo M³, Jorgensen MJ³, Graham BS⁴, Yewdell JW⁵, Alexander-Miller MA¹.
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Abstract

The specificity of antibodies (Abs) generated to influenza A virus (IAV) infection can significantly alter protection and viral clearance. At present, the impact of age upon this process is relatively unexplored. Here, we evaluated the Ab response in newborn and adult African green monkeys (AGM) following infection with IAV using a strain that enables us to determine the immunodominance (ID) hierarchy of the Ab response to hemagglutinin (HA), the principal target of protective Abs. This revealed altered ID patterns in the early IgM anti-HA response in newborns versus adults that converged over time. While the IgG ID profiles for HA in newborn and adult monkeys were similar, this was not the case for IgA. Importantly, HA stem-specific Abs were generated robustly and similarly in newborns and adults in terms of quality and quantity. Together these results demonstrate that newborns and adults can differ in the Ab ID pattern established following infection and that the ID pattern can vary across isotypes. In addition, newborns have the ability to generate potent HA stem-specific Ab responses. Our findings further the understanding of the newborn response to IAV antigens and inform the development of improved vaccines for this at-risk population.


KEYWORDS:

B cells; Immunology

PMID: 32078584 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.135449