The Impact of B-Cell Perturbations on Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Response in HIV-Infected Adults

Untreated HIV infection results in severe perturbations of the B-cell population and hyporesponsiveness to vaccination. We studied associations between circulating B-cell subsets and antibody response to pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in treated and untreated HIV patients. Ninety-five HIV-infected adults were grouped according to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and CD4+ cell count as follows: 20 ART-naïve (no prior ART), 62 ART-responders (received ART, and CD4 count >500 cells/µl), and 13 impaired responders (received ART for more than 3 years, and CD4 count <500 cells/µl). All subjects were immunized twice with double-dose 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine with or without 1 mg CPG 7909 (toll-like receptor 9 agonist) at baseline and after three months. Pre-vaccination B-cell subpopulations were assessed by flow cytometry. Serum IgG concentrations for vaccine serotypes were quantified by ELISA at baseline and 3, 4, and 9 months post-vaccination. ART responders had more isotype-switched memory B cells and more marginal-zone (MZ)-like B cells compared with impaired responders. Furthermore, ART-naïve patients had higher concentration of transitional B cells and plasmablasts compared with B cells of other patient groups. The concentration of MZ-like, isotype switched memory cells and plasmablasts correlated positively with post-vaccination IgG concentration at 3, 4, and 9 months. Low concentrations of isotype-switched memory B cells was the strongest independent predictor of poor pneumococcal conjugate vaccine responsiveness, emphasizing that B-cell subset disturbances are associated with poor vaccine response among HIV-infected patients