Specific immunoglobulin responses in serum and nasal secretions after the administration of attenuated rubella vaccine

Abstract

SUMMARY The indirect immunofluorescent technique has been used to study the specific immunoglobulin responses in the sera of 63 non-immune adult women who received either Cendehill rubella vaccine subcutaneously, RA27/3 rubella vaccine subcutaneously, or RA27/3 vaccine intranasally. IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies increased virtually simultaneously, starting about 2 weeks after vaccination. IgG antibody appeared in all subjects and reached maximum titres 4–6 weeks after vaccination. The mean IgG titres elicited by the three different methods of vaccination did not differ significantly. IgA and IgM antibodies reached their highest titres between 21 and 28 days after vaccination and then declined to low or undetectable titres within about 9 weeks. The maximum IgA titres observed after intranasal administration of RA27/3 vaccine were significantly higher than those which occurred when the same vaccine was given subcutaneously, but no significant difference in IgM titres was observed. When unfractionated sera were examined IgA antibody was detected in 57 cases (91%) and IgM in 51 (81%). Fluorescent examination of fractions obtained by centrifugation on sucrose density gradients frequently revealed small amounts of IgA and IgM antibody which could not be detected by staining unfractionated serum, and with the inclusion of these results IgA antibody was detected in 61 cases (97%) and IgM in 59 (94%). When 39 adults with pre-existing serum antibody were challenged with vaccine a definite IgA response was detected in only one subject and in no case was there any evidence of the appearance of IgM antibody. Nasal antibody, consisting of IgG or IgA or both, was detected in 17 out of 23 non-immune subjects (74%) who received RA27/3 vaccine, either subcutaneously or intranasally. Titres were much lower than those which occur in the natural disease and there was no evidence that nasal antibody was elicited more readily by intranasal than by subcutaneous vaccination.