The cellular and humoral immune response to influenza vaccination is comparable in asthmatic and healthy subjects

ABSTRACT

Annual influenza vaccination is recommended as a preventive measure for all patients with asthma since asthma exacerbations in children and adults are associated to viral infections including influenza. There is concern about the adequate immune response in asthmatics with ICS treatment. The production of antibodies to influenza in asthmatics has been demonstrated. However, cellular immunity is poorly understood. The aim of the study was to compare the humoral and cellular immune responses to influenza vaccine in asthmatic and healthy subjects.

Twenty-five asthmatic patients attending the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Service at the Hospital General de Mexico and 25 healthy adults were included. Blood samples were obtained before, 4 and 12 months after immunization with influenza vaccine, influenza-specific antibodies were determined by the hemagglutination inhibition test and influenza-specific memory B, TCD4+, and TCD8 + lymphocytes were determined by flow cytometry.

All the asthmatic patients received ICS treatment. The Geometric Mean titers for all influenza serotypes were similar in both groups; seropositivity and the cellular immune response increased in both groups over time and was comparable.

Influenza vaccination in asthmatic patients with immunotherapy and ICS achieved protective antibody levels and cellular immunity over time comparable to healthy subjects.

KEYWORDS:

• Asthma
• adults
• influenza vaccine
• cellular and humoral immune response

Acknowledgments

This work was part of the MSc dissertation submitted by Velasco-Medina AA. in partial fulfillment for the degree requirements of “Maestría en Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico”. We want to thank the subjects who agreed to participate in the study and finally to the Liver, Pancreas and Motility unit of the UNAM for the use of the FacsCanto II cytometer. The institutional Review Board of the School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and the Institutional Review Board of the Hospital General de México approved the study; written consent was obtained from all participants.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Federal Funds from the Research Division, Hospital General de México “Dr. Eduardo Liceaga”, and Federal Funds from the Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. The author wants to thank “Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología” CONACYT for the support of Andrea A. Velasco Medina for her master studies by grant #[424901].