1. Cholera toxin-specific memory B cell responses are induced in patients with dehydrating diarrhea caused by Vibrio cholerae O1.
- Author
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Jayasekera CR, Harris JB, Bhuiyan S, Chowdhury F, Khan AI, Faruque AS, Larocque RC, Ryan ET, Ahmed R, Qadri F, and Calderwood SB
- Subjects
- Antibodies, Bacterial blood, Humans, Immunoglobulin A blood, Immunoglobulin G blood, B-Lymphocytes immunology, Cholera immunology, Cholera Toxin immunology, Diarrhea immunology, Immunologic Memory, Vibrio cholerae O1
- Abstract
Background: Infection with Vibrio cholerae induces durable immunity against subsequent disease, a process hypothesized to reflect anamnestic immune responses at the intestinal mucosa. The presence of antigen-specific memory B cells may therefore be a more direct measure of protection than serum antibody responses., Methods: We measured immunoglobulin (Ig) G memory B cells specific to cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) in 14 patients up to 90 days after V. cholerae O1 infection, by polyclonal stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells followed by standard enzyme-linked immunospot assay., Results: All patients generated CTB-specific IgG memory B cell responses by day 30 (mean, 0.10% of total circulating IgG memory B cells; range, 0.037%-0.28%), which persisted to day 90 (mean, 0.07%; range, 0.003%-0.27%). In contrast, circulating CTB-specific IgG antibody-secreting cells and serum vibriocidal and anti-CTB antibody responses peaked on day 7 and declined to undetectable or significantly lower levels by day 90., Conclusions: CTB-specific IgG memory B cell responses are detectable in the circulation at least 3 months after V. cholerae O1 infection and remain measurable even after serum antibody titers have declined to undetectable or considerably lower levels. This suggests that antigen-specific memory B cells may be an important long-term marker of the immune response to cholera.
- Published
- 2008
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