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To better understand the systemic response to naturally acquired acute respiratory viral infections, we prospectively enrolled 1610 healthy adults in 2009 and 2010. Of these, 142 subjects were followed for detailed evaluation of acute viral respiratory illness. We examined peripheral blood gene expression at 7 timepoints: enrollment, 5 illness visits and the end of each year of the study. 133 completed all study visits and yielded technically adequate peripheral blood microarray gene expression data. Seventy-three (55%) had an influenza virus infection, 64 influenza A and 9 influenza B. The remaining subjects had a rhinovirus infection (N = 32), other viral infections (N = 4), or no viral agent identified (N = 24). The results, which were replicated between two seasons, showed a dramatic upregulation of interferon pathway and innate immunity genes. This persisted for 2-4 days. The data show a recovery phase at days 4 and 6 with differentially expressed transcripts implicated in cell proliferation and repair. By day 21 the gene expression pattern was indistinguishable from baseline (enrollment). Influenza virus infection induced a higher magnitude and longer duration of the shared expression signature of illness compared to the other viral infections. Using lineage and activation state-specific transcripts to produce cell composition scores, patterns of B and T lymphocyte depressions accompanied by a major activation of NK cells were detected in the acute phase of illness. The data also demonstrate multiple dynamic gene modules that are reorganized and strengthened following infection. Finally, we examined pre- and post-infection anti-influenza antibody titers defining novel gene expression correlates.

Identification of the host genetic factors that contribute to variation in vaccine responsiveness may uncover important mechanisms affecting vaccine efficacy. We carried out an integrative, longitudinal study combining genetic, transcriptional, and immunologic data in humans given seasonal influenza vaccine. We identified 20 genes exhibiting a transcriptional response to vaccination, significant genotype effects on gene expression, and correlation between the transcriptional and antibody responses. The results show that variation at the level of genes involved in membrane trafficking and antigen processing significantly influences the human response to influenza vaccination. More broadly, we demonstrate that an integrative study design is an efficient alternative to existing methods for the identification of genes involved in complex traits. Vaccines increase resistance to disease by priming the immune system to respond to specific viruses or microorganisms. By presenting a weakened (or dead) form of a pathogen, or its toxins or surface proteins, to the immune system, vaccines trigger the production of antibodies against the virus or microorganism. If a vaccinated individual then encounters the pathogen, their immune system should be able to recognize and destroy it. Many vaccines also include a secondary agent, known as an adjuvant, to further stimulate the immune response. Influenza, an RNA virus commonly referred to as the ‘flu’, is an infectious disease that affects both birds and mammals. Seasonal epidemics occur each year affecting 2–7% of the population. According to the World Health Organization, influenza leads to nearly 5 million hospitalizations each year and causes up to half a million deaths. Vaccination is a primary strategy for the prevention of seasonal influenza, but responses to the vaccine vary markedly, partly because of variation in the genetic makeup or genotype of individuals. However, the details of how genes influence response to vaccination, and indeed susceptibility to influenza, remain unclear. To investigate the genetic basis of variation in the immune response of healthy adults to the seasonal influenza vaccine, Franco et al. combined information about the genotypes of individuals with measurements of their gene transcription and antibody response to vaccination. They identified 20 genes that contributed to differential immune responses to the vaccine. Almost half of these encode proteins that are not specifically associated with the immune system, but have more general roles in processes such as membrane trafficking and intracellular transport. Focusing on these genes may enable researchers to spot those individuals who are less likely to respond to a vaccine. It could also open up new avenues of research for vaccine development: rather than designing adjuvants that target known immune mechanisms, researchers should develop adjuvants that target the proteins encoded by these 20 genes.

Background. Annual vaccination is the primary means for preventing influenza. However, great interindividual variability exists in vaccine responses, the cellular events that take place in vivo after vaccination are poorly understood, and appropriate biomarkers for vaccine responsiveness have not been developed. Methods. We immunized a cohort of healthy male adults with a licensed trivalent influenza vaccine and performed a timed assessment of global gene expression before and after vaccination. We analyzed the relationship between gene expression patterns and the humoral immune response to vaccination. Results. Marked up regulation of expression of genes involved in interferon signaling, positive IL-6 regulation, and antigen processing and presentation, were detected within 24 hours of immunization. The late vaccine response showed a transcriptional pattern suggestive of increased protein biosynthesis and cellular proliferation. Integrative analyses revealed a 494-gene expression signature—including STATI, CD74, and E2F2— which strongly correlates with the magnitude of the antibody response. High vaccine responder status correlates with increased early expression of interferon signaling and antigen processing and presentation genes. Conclusions. The results highlight the role of a systems biology approach in understanding the molecular events that take place in vivo after influenza vaccination and in the development of better predictors of vaccine responsiveness.

Background. A new influenza A/H1N1 (pH1N1) virus emerged in April 2009, proceeded to spread worldwide, and was designated as an influenza pandemic. A/H1N1 viruses had circulated in 1918-1957 and 1977-2009 and were in the annual vaccine during 1977-2009. Methods. Serum antibody to the pH1N1 and seasonal A/H1N1 viruses was measured in 579 healthy adults at enrollment (fall 2009) and after surveillance for illness (spring 2010). Subjects reporting with moderate to severe acute respiratory illness had illness and virus quantitation for 1 week; evaluations for missed illnesses were conducted over holiday periods and at the spring 2010 visit. Results. After excluding 66 subjects who received pHlNl vaccine, 513 remained. Seventy-seven had reported with moderate to severe illnesses; 31 were infected with pHlNl virus, and 30 with a rhinovirus. Determining etiology from clinical findings was not possible, but fever and prominent myalgias favored influenza and prominent rhinorrhea favored rhinovirus. Tests of fall and spring antibody indicated pHlNl infection of 23% had occurred, with the rate decreasing with increasing anti-pH1N1 antibody; a similar pattern was seen for influenza-associated illness. A reducing frequency of pHlNl infections was also seen with increasing antibody to the recent seasonal A/H1N1 virus (A/Brisbane/59/07). Preexisting antibody to pHlNl virus, responses to a single vaccine dose, a low infection-to-illness ratio, and a short duration of illness and virus shedding among those with influenza indicated presence of considerable preexisting immunity to pH1N1 in the population. Conclusions. The 2009 A/H1N1 epidemic among healthy adults was relatively mild, most likely because of immunity from prior infections with A/H1N1 viruses.

To better understand the systemic response to naturally acquired acute respiratory viral infections, we prospectively enrolled 1610 healthy adults in 2009 and 2010. Of these, 142 subjects were followed for detailed evaluation of acute viral respiratory illness. We examined peripheral blood gene expression at 7 timepoints: enrollment, 5 illness visits and the end of each year of the study. 133 completed all study visits and yielded technically adequate peripheral blood microarray gene expression data. Seventy-three (55%) had an influenza virus infection, 64 influenza A and 9 influenza B. The remaining subjects had a rhinovirus infection (N = 32), other viral infections (N = 4), or no viral agent identified (N = 24). The results, which were replicated between two seasons, showed a dramatic upregulation of interferon pathway and innate immunity genes. This persisted for 2-4 days. The data show a recovery phase at days 4 and 6 with differentially expressed transcripts implicated in cell proliferation and repair. By day 21 the gene expression pattern was indistinguishable from baseline (enrollment). Influenza virus infection induced a higher magnitude and longer duration of the shared expression signature of illness compared to the other viral infections. Using lineage and activation state-specific transcripts to produce cell composition scores, patterns of B and T lymphocyte depressions accompanied by a major activation of NK cells were detected in the acute phase of illness. The data also demonstrate multiple dynamic gene modules that are reorganized and strengthened following infection. Finally, we examined pre- and post-infection anti-influenza antibody titers defining novel gene expression correlates.

In the Houston Family Study, overall rates of infection for the three major outbreaks of influenza A from 1977 to 1981 were higher for subtype H3N2 than for H1N1. Rates in school children were almost identical, but rates of infection with H1N1 were lower in adults and in preschool children, especially those younger than two years of age. However, rates for the two subtypes were similar in young children within families that experienced influenza A infections. In the total population overall illness rates among infected persons were identical, and diagnoses were similar. Among 145 identified primary infections (1977–1982), more H3N2 infections resulted in systemic (febrile) illness or lower-respiratory-tract disease, but a detailed comparison of illness features of 54 primary infections in children aged two to five years showed no significant differences. Epidemiological differences appear to be more important than pathogenic potential in determining the community impact of these two subtypes of type A influenza virus.

Participants in the Houston Family Study were observed during a period of two mixed outbreaks due to two subtypes of influenza A virus: H3N2 and H1N1 (1977–1981). Virus specimens, serum samples, and clinical records were obtained to identify and characterize infections. In 1977–1978, 40% of 238 persons in 59 families were infected by influenza A virus (H3N2), 11% by influenza A virus (H1N1), and 4% by both. In 1980–1981, for 319 persons in 79 families, the corresponding rates were 27%, 20%, and 5%. Interference between subtypes was not detected. Both subtypes were isolated from six children (range of intervals between isolations, six to 55 days), and five of the six were ill with both infections. Nineteen persons had two infections with one or both detected serologically; illnesses were associated with 77% of isolates and up to 56% of seroconversions in these persons. Infection of the same individual with two subtypes in the same season is a newly observed phenomenon that may affect the future epidemiology of influenza A virus as well as preventive measures.

Human intestinal organoids (HIOs) derived from pluripotent stem cells provide a valuable model for investigating human intestinal organogenesis and physiology, but they lack the immune components required to fully recapitulate the complexity of human intestinal biology and diseases. To address this issue and to begin to decipher human intestinal–immune crosstalk during development, we generated HIOs containing immune cells by transplanting HIOs under the kidney capsule of mice with a humanized immune system. We found that human immune cells temporally migrate to the mucosa and form cellular aggregates that resemble human intestinal lymphoid follicles. Moreover, after microbial exposure, epithelial microfold cells are increased in number, leading to immune cell activation determined by the secretion of IgA antibodies in the HIO lumen. This in vivo HIO system with human immune cells provides a framework for future studies on infection- or allergen-driven intestinal diseases. Human intestinal organoids are endowed with immune cells by transplantation into humanized mice.

Background. Serum antibody to the hemagglutinin (HA) of influenza viruses is a correlate and predictor of immunity to influenza in humans; the relative values of other correlates are uncertain. Methods. Serum and nasal secretions (NS) were collected in fall and spring of 2009—2011 from healthy adults who were monitored for acute respiratory illness (ARI). Serum samples were tested for hemagglutination-inhibition (HAI) antibody increase and secretions for virus if ill; enrollment sera were also tested for neuraminidase-inhibiting (NI) antibody and NS for neutralizing (neut), NI, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and immunoglobulin G (IgG) anti-HA antibody. Results. Serum anti-HA and anti-neuraminidase (NA) antibody titers to 2009(H1N1) pandemic influenza virus (pH1N1) correlated with titers in NS (including IgA and IgG antibody). Increasing anti-HA and anti-NA titers in serum and NS tests all correlated with reducing infection and infection-associated illness. Multivariate analyses indicated serum HAI and NI each independently predicted immunity to infection and infection-associated illness. Only serum NI independently predicted reduced illness among infected subjects. Conclusions. Increasing anti-HA and NA antibody in serum and secretions correlated with reducing pH1N1 influenza virus infection and illness in healthy young adults. Both anti-HA and anti-NA antibody are independent predictors of immunity to influenza; ensuring induction of both by vaccination is desirable.