Active immunity is seen as a reduction in the cell response to oral live vaccine

Oral immunization elicits a response of antibody-secreting cells (ASC) in the peripheral blood; these cells are believed to originate in the mucosa and hence give information on the mucosal immune response. We have shown earlier that oral booster immunization is followed by an elevated ASC response reflecting an immunologic memory. In the present study we show that a booster dose of a live bacterial vaccine given at a time of active mucosal immunity elicits a low ASC response only. This is probably because the multiplication of the live vaccine is inhibited in the gut, resulting in a low actual dose of the antigen. This situation may be an example of the protective immunity manifested when an orally immunized person encounters the pathogen in nature, and could be used to assess the protective immunity.