Preserved Cellular Immunity Upon Influenza Vaccination in Most Patients with Common Variable Immunodeficiency

Vaccination against influenza is recommended for patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), although humoral immune responses in these patients are impaired and the evidence of effective T-cell responses in CVID is not well established.

To determine plasmablast and T-cellular vaccination responses against influenza in patients with CVID.

Patients with CVID and healthy controls were vaccinated with the quadrivalent vaccine Influsplit Tetra 2018/2019. Before and 1 week after vaccination plasmablasts and circulating inducible costimulator-expressing T follicular helper cells were measured to determine positive vaccine responses in these patients. In addition, antigen-specific T cells were determined by their upregulation of CD25 and OX40 after in vitro restimulation with the vaccine.

Most healthy controls but only 1 patient with CVID mounted a positive humoral immune response, measured by an increase in plasmablasts 1 week after vaccination. In contrast, most patients with CVID showed an increase in inducible costimulator⁺ T follicular helper cells and/or an increase in antigen-specific CD25⁺OX40⁺ T cells 1 week after vaccination, demonstrating a positive T-cellular immune response.

Despite the remaining challenge of accurately assessing the complexity of T-cell responses, the recommendation of vaccinating patients with CVID against influenza is reasonable.