HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jimmunol.0900398v1 183/5/3294    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Kim, J. H. Articles by Jacob, J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kim, J. H. Articles by Jacob, J. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH

Original Antigenic Sin Responses to Influenza Viruses¹

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Most immune responses follow Burnet’s rule in that Ag recruits specific lymphocytes from a large repertoire and induces them to proliferate and differentiate into effector cells. However, the phenomenon of "original antigenic sin" stands out as a paradox to Burnet’s rule of B cell engagement. Humans, upon infection with a novel influenza strain, produce Abs against older viral strains at the expense of responses to novel, protective antigenic determinants. This exacerbates the severity of the current infection. This blind spot of the immune system and the redirection of responses to the "original Ag" rather than to novel epitopes were described fifty years ago. Recent reports have questioned the existence of this phenomenon. Hence, we revisited this issue to determine the extent to which original antigenic sin is induced by variant influenza viruses. Using two related strains of influenza A virus, we show that original antigenic sin leads to a significant decrease in development of protective immunity and recall responses to the second virus. In addition, we show that sequential infection of mice with two live influenza virus strains leads to almost exclusive Ab responses to the first viral strain, suggesting that original antigenic sin could be a potential strategy by which variant influenza viruses subvert the immune system.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ This work was supported by contract HHSN266 200700006C from National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. J.J. is a research scholar of the American Cancer Society.

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Joshy Jacob, 954 Gatewood Road, Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329. E-mail address: joshy.jacob{at}emory.edu

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: HA, hemagglutinin; RDE II, receptor destroying enzyme II; HAI, hemagglutination inhibition; LD₅₀, 50% lethal dose; HAU, hemagglutinin unit; MDCK, Madin-Darby canine kidney.