Antibody Responsiveness to Influenza: What Drives It?

Abstract

The induction of a specific antibody response has long been accepted as a serological hallmark of recent infection or antigen exposure. Much of our understanding of the influenza antibody response has been derived from studying antibodies that target the hemagglutinin (HA) protein. However, growing evidence points to limitations associated with this approach. In this review, we aim to highlight the issue of antibody non-responsiveness after influenza virus infection and vaccination. We will then provide an overview of the major factors known to influence antibody responsiveness to influenza after infection and vaccination. We discuss the biological factors such as age, sex, influence of prior immunity, genetics, and some chronic infections that may affect the induction of influenza antibody responses. We also discuss the technical factors, such as assay choices, strain variations, and viral properties that may influence the sensitivity of the assays used to measure influenza antibodies. Understanding these factors will hopefully provide a more comprehensive picture of what influenza immunogenicity and protection means, which will be important in our effort to improve influenza vaccines.

Host factors and vaccine efficacy: Implications for COVID‐19 vaccines

“…It has also been suggested that frailty, an aging syndrome affects the antibody response generated by vaccines in elderly people. 18 …”

“…In addition to immune system differences between the sexes, sex‐based disparities in antibody response may be related to the effect of sex hormones and immune regulatory genes on chromosome X, genes such as Tlr7 are located on the sex chromosomes, 18 , 24 and high testosterone levels repress vaccine response in men; however, it is controversial. 18 In short, the role of the sex variable in the vaccine response should be explored in clinical trials.…”

“…Studies have suggested that genetics can be applied to foresee the effectiveness of vaccines and design more effective and personalized vaccination strategies. 18 …”

“… 46 Although there is a lot of variation in the HLA genes, it is also important to study the non‒HLA genes. 18 A study reported that host genetic factors polymorphisms are associated with seroconversion rate after influenza vaccine. Compared with C/T and T/T donors, persons with the IFITM3 rs12252C/C genotype had reduced seroconversion rates after vaccination.…”

Special Issue—Immunity to Influenza Viruses

“…Tomic, Pollard, and Davis [4] provide a thorough overview of systems' immunology approaches and their role in dissecting immune correlates of protection for influenza to determine the immune interactions for effective viral control and vaccine efficacy. Lin et al [5] focus on the issue of antibody non-responsiveness to influenza infection and vaccination, discussing biological factors that may impact antibody responses and technical factors that may influence their analysis. Bull et al [6] discuss the potential impacts of next-generation vaccines that may be non-sterilizing, leading to increased immune evasion by rapidly mutating influenza viruses.…”