This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Francis, J. P.
Right arrow Articles by van den Biggelaar, A. H. J.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Francis, J. P.
Right arrow Articles by van den Biggelaar, A. H. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, November 2009, p. 1633-1638, Vol. 16, No. 11
1071-412X/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CVI.00247-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Maternal Antibodies to Pneumolysin but Not to Pneumococcal Surface Protein A Delay Early Pneumococcal Carriage in High-Risk Papua New Guinean Infants{triangledown}

Jacinta P. Francis,1,2,3 Peter C. Richmond,2 William S. Pomat,1 Audrey Michael,1 Helen Keno,1 Suparat Phuanukoonnon,1 Jan B. Nelson,2 Melissa Whinnen,2 Tatjana Heinrich,3 Wendy-Anne Smith,3 Susan L. Prescott,2 Patrick G. Holt,3 Peter M. Siba,1 Deborah Lehmann,3 and Anita H. J. van den Biggelaar3*

Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, Papua New Guinea,1 School of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia,2 Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia3

Received 29 May 2009/ Returned for modification 1 September 2009/ Accepted 14 September 2009

Immunization of pregnant women can be an efficient strategy to induce early protection in infants in developing countries. Pneumococcal protein-based vaccines may have the capacity to induce pneumococcal serotype-independent protection. To understand the potential of maternal pneumococcal protein-specific antibodies in infants in high-risk areas, we studied the placental transfer of naturally acquired antibodies to pneumolysin (Ply) and pneumococcal surface protein A family 1 and 2 (PspA1 and PspA2) in relation to onset of pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage in infants in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In this study, 76% of the infants carried Streptococcus pneumoniae in the upper respiratory tract within the first month of life, at a median age of 19 days. Maternal and cord blood antibody titers to Ply ({rho} = 0.824, P < 0.001), PspA1 ({rho} = 0.746, P < 0.001), and PspA2 ({rho} = 0.631, P < 0.001) were strongly correlated. Maternal pneumococcal carriage (hazard ratio [HR], 2.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25 to 5.39) and younger maternal age (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.54 to 1.00) were independent risk factors for early carriage, while higher cord Ply-specific antibody titers predicted a significantly delayed onset (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.52 to 1.00) and cord PspA1-specific antibodies a significantly younger onset of carriage in PNG infants (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.40). Maternal vaccination with a pneumococcal protein-based vaccine should be considered as a strategy to protect high-risk infants against pneumococcal disease by reducing carriage risks in both mothers and infants.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, P.O. Box 855, West Perth, WA 6872, Australia. Phone: 61 8 9489 7919. Fax: 61 8 9489 7700. E-mail: Anitav{at}ichr.uwa.edu.au

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 23 September 2009.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, November 2009, p. 1633-1638, Vol. 16, No. 11
1071-412X/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CVI.00247-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»