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Cutting Edge: Long-Term B Cell Memory in Humans after Smallpox Vaccination

2003; American Association of Immunologists; Volume: 171; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4049/jimmunol.171.10.4969

1550-6606

Shane Crotty, Phil Felgner, Huw C. Davies, John Glidewell, Luis P. Villarreal, Rafi Ahmed,

SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research

Abstract Memory B cells are a central component of humoral immunity, and yet little is known about their longevity in humans. Immune memory after smallpox vaccination (DryVax) is a valuable benchmark for understanding the longevity of B cell memory in the absence of re-exposure to Ag. In this study, we demonstrate that smallpox vaccine-specific memory B cells last for >50 years in immunized individuals. Virus-specific memory B cells initially declined postimmunization, but then reached a plateau ∼10-fold lower than peak and were stably maintained for >50 years after vaccination at a frequency of ∼0.1% of total circulating IgG+ B cells. These persisting memory B cells were functional and able to mount a robust anamnestic Ab response upon revaccination. Additionally, virus-specific CD4+ T cells were detected decades after vaccination. These data show that immunological memory to DryVax vaccine is long-lived and may contribute to protection against smallpox.