Secondary immune amplification following live poliovirus immunization in humans

Eight subjects inoculated orally with live attenuated poliovirus were investigated to study the effects of live virus infection on human T-cell responses. Proliferation to poliovirus and unrelated recall antigens were measured serially over a 3-week period. Five of eight subjects inoculated demonstrated a clear anamnestic response to poliovirus, but three did not. Only the five subjects demonstrating an anamnestic response to poliovirus were found to have augmented secondary immune responses to two unrelated recall antigens (tetanus toxoid and reovirus) and in the autologous mixed lymphocyte response (AMLR). No consistent changes were found in circulating T-cell surface activation antigens whether or not the subjects responded to poliovirus. These studies suggest that an asymptomatic poliovirus infection associated with immunization in humans can induce nonspecific secondary immune amplification as measured by in vitro T-cell proliferative response. This amplification pathway is a potential mechanism for immune responses against antigens other than those of the infecting virus.