Antibody responses to recombinant and plasma derived hepatitis B vaccines

The antibody response to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) induced in 25 recipients of a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine derived from yeast was compared with that induced in 25 recipients of a vaccine prepared from hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) derived from plasma. Anti-HBs affinity and specificity were compared using assays of antibody affinity with two different antigens, a complex of the major polypeptide of HBsAg (p25; molecular weight 25 000 daltons) covalently linked to its glycosylated form (gp30) prepared from native purified HBsAg, and a cyclical synthetic peptide representing amino acid residues 139-147 of the major polypeptide of HBsAg and known to represent a major part of an a determinant. There was no difference in anti-HBs affinity or molar antigen binding sites of the antibody measured with either antigen between the two groups. All subjects in both groups produced antibody that bound to the gp30/p25 complex antigen, whereas 22 of the recipients of the plasma derived vaccine compared with 24 of those receiving the yeast derived vaccine produced antibodies that bound to the cyclical synthetic peptide 139-147. These results support the finding of similar levels of anti-HBs, measured by commercial solid phase radioimmunoassay, in the two vaccine groups after three doses of vaccine. These results show no significant difference in the quantity, quality, or specificity of the anti-HBs response induced by the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine and the plasma derived hepatitis B vaccine.