Quantity, not quality, of antibody response decreased in the elderly
Open accessAbstract
The burden of disease during seasonal influenza epidemics is felt most keenly among the very young and the elderly. Although vaccination effectively protects children and young adults against infection, it has limited efficacy in elderly individuals. This has been linked to a reduced ability to induce a robust serum antibody response. In this issue of the JCI, Sasaki et al. identify some of the cellular and molecular deficits that underlie the reduced serum antibody response induced by influenza vaccination in elderly individuals. Importantly, they show that it is the quantity of the response, and not its quality, that needs to be improved if we are to enhance the success of influenza vaccination in this vulnerable population.
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The lower antibody responses observed in elderly vaccinees are likely caused by immunosenescence.
“The main differences between the 2 groups are likely a consequence of immunosenescence, which describes the reduced adaptive immune responses in the elderly [29].”
From Age-dependent Immune Response to the Biontech/Pfizer BNT162b2 Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination (2021) · cites this paper as [29]
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- Authors
- Blomberg, B. B., & Frasca, D.
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Investigation
- Published
- 2011-08-01
- Volume
- 121
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 2981-2983
- ISSN
- 0021-9738 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3148749
- OpenAlex
- W2012151374
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 5
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Investigation (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Muscular Dystrophy Association
- FightSMA
- National Institutes of Health (NICHD‐R01)
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG032576, R37AG023717, AG32576, AG23717, R56AG032576)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Influenza Virus Research Studies
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immune responses and vaccinations
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Keywords
- influenza vaccination, older adults, serum antibody response, antibody quality, vaccine efficacy, immunosenescence
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Antibodies, Antibody Formation, Communicable Disease Control, Geriatrics, Humans, Influenza, Human, Influenza Vaccines, Vaccination
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