Induction of Human T-cell and Cytokine Responses Following Vaccination with a Novel Influenza Vaccine

Cell mediated immunity plays a vital role in defense against influenza infection in humans. Less is known about the role of vaccine-induced cell mediated immunity and the cytokine responses elicited. We measured CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cell reactivity in human subjects following vaccination with licensed trivalent influenza vaccine and a novel virus-like particle based vaccine. We detected influenza-specific CD4⁺ T-cell responses following vaccination with the licensed trivalent influenza vaccine and found that these correlated with antibody measurements. Administration of the novel virus-like particle based vaccine elicited influenza-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cell responses and the induction of the cytokines IFN-γ, IL-17A, IL17F, IL-5, IL-13, IL-9, IL-10 and IL-21. Pre-existing cytokine responses influenced the profile of the cytokine response elicited by vaccination. In a subset of individuals the VLP vaccine changed pre-vaccination production of type 2 cytokines such as IL-5 and IL-13 to a post-vaccination type 1 cytokine signature characterized by IFN-γ. A transcriptional signature to vaccination was found to correlate with antibody titer, IFN-γ production by T-cells and expression of a putative RNA helicase, DDX17, on the surface of immune cells.