Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Oct 29;36(45):6650-6659.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.09.054. Epub 2018 Sep 28.

Impact of early life exposure to ionizing radiation on influenza vaccine response in an elderly Japanese cohort

Tomonori Hayashi  1 , Heather E Lynch  2 , Susan Geyer  3 , Kengo Yoshida  4 , Keiko Furudoi  4 , Keiko Sasaki  4 , Yukari Morishita  4 , Hiroko Nagamura  4 , Mayumi Maki  4 , Yiqun Hu  4 , Ikue Hayashi  5 , Seishi Kyoizumi  4 , Yoichiro Kusunoki  4 , Waka Ohishi  6 , Saeko Fujiwara  7 , Munechika Misumi  8 , Ivo Shterev  9 , Janko Nikolich-Žugich  10 , Donna Murasko  11 , Laura P Hale  12 , Gregory D Sempowski  13 , Kei Nakachi  4
Affiliations

Impact of early life exposure to ionizing radiation on influenza vaccine response in an elderly Japanese cohort

Tomonori Hayashi et al. Vaccine. .

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of whole body radiation exposure early in life on influenza vaccination immune responses much later in life. A total of 292 volunteers recruited from the cohort members of ongoing Adult Health Study (AHS) of Japanese atomic bomb (A-bomb) survivors completed this observational study spanning two influenza seasons (2011-2012 and 2012-2013). Peripheral blood samples were collected prior to and three weeks after vaccination. Serum hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) antibody titers were measured as well as concentrations of 25 cytokines and chemokines in culture supernatant from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, with and without in vitro stimulation with influenza vaccine. We found that influenza vaccination modestly enhanced serum HAI titers in this unique cohort of elderly subjects, with seroprotection ranging from 18 to 48% for specific antigen/season combinations. Twelve percent of subjects were seroprotected against all three vaccine antigens post-vaccination. Males were generally more likely to be seroprotected for one or more antigens post-vaccination, with no differences in vaccine responses based on age at vaccination or radiation exposure in early life. These results show that early life exposure to ionizing radiation does not prevent responses of elderly A-bomb survivors to seasonal influenza vaccine.

Keywords: Antibodies; Atomic-bomb radiation; Chemokine; Cytokine; Influenza vaccine; Radiation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

All authors report no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Humoral HAI responses to vaccination by cohort flu season. (A) Box and whisker plot show HAI titers for each of the six antigen-season combinations studied for all participants in the study at baseline (white bars) and three weeks post-vaccination (gray bars). The “box” encloses the 25–75 percentile titers and the “whisker” (error bars) indicate 95% of responses. The number of outliers at higher titers is shown above each whisker. The seroconversion factor (SCF) for each antigen/season combination is also shown. (B) The percentages of subjects classified as seroprotected before and after vaccination and the seroconversion rate (SCR) are shown for these same antigen/season combinations. The 95% confidence intervals for SCF are presented in Supplementary Table S2.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Multivariable analysis of sex effect on humoral response to influenza vaccine antigens. Vaccination response odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval for sex effect on seroprotection rate (A and B) and seroconversion rate (C and D), adjusted for vaccination the prior season and for dichotomized age at vaccination (≥75 vs. <75 yrs), and radiation dose (<1 Gy vs. ≥1 Gy).
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Multivariable analysis of age at vaccination effect on humoral response to influenza vaccine antigens. Vaccination response odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval for age effect on seroprotection rate (A and B) and seroconversion rate (C and D), adjusted for vaccination the prior season, sex, and radiation dose (<1 Gy vs. ≥1 Gy).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Multivariate analysis of radiation dose effect on humoral response to influenza vaccine antigens. Vaccination response odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval for radiation dose effect on seroprotection rate (A and B) and seroconversion rate (C and D), adjusted for vaccination the prior season, sex, and for dichotomized age at vaccination (≥75 vs. <75 yrs).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Nichol KL, Nordin JD, Nelson DB, Mullooly JP, Hak E. Effectiveness of influenza vaccine in the community-dwelling elderly. N Engl J Med 2007;357:1373–81. - PubMed
    1. Simonsen L, Taylor RJ, Viboud C, Miller MA, Jackson LA. Mortality benefits of influenza vaccination in elderly people: an ongoing controversy. Lancet Infect Dis 2007;7:658–66. - PubMed
    1. Fireman B, Lee J, Lewis N, Bembom O, van der Laan M, Baxter R. Influenza vaccination and mortality: differentiating vaccine effects from bias. Am J Epidemiol 2009;170:650–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Trucchi C, Paganino C, Orsi A, De Florentiis D, Ansaldi F. Influenza vaccination in the elderly: why are the overall benefits still hotly debated? J Prev Med Hyg 2015;56:E37–43. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Candore G, Balistreri CR, Listi F, Grimaldi MP, Vasto S, Colonna-Romano G, et al. Immunogenetics, gender, and longevity. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2006;1089:516–37. - PubMed

Publication types