Neisseria meningitidis group C polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugate was prepared to obtain the polysaccharide component in a thymus-dependent form and to preserve the immunogenic properties of the tetanus toxoid component. Biochemical and immunochemical analyses of this conjugate revealed that (i) it was composed of equal amounts of polysaccharide and protein; (ii) the antigenic activity of ...

BACKGROUND Immune responses are complex traits influenced by genetic and environmental factors. We previously reported that genetic factors control early antibody responses to vaccines in Gambian infants. For the present study, we evaluated the determinants of the memory phase of immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses. METHODS Antibody responses to tetanus toxoid (TT), measles vaccines, and environ...

Relatively pure populations of human T and B lymphocytes were obtained from blood and tonsils using density gradient centrifugation in bovine serum albumin. Antigen alone was incapable of triggering the B lymphocyte into blast transformation or to secrete antibody. However, supernatants from tetanus toxoid-stimulated T cells obtained from immune donors contained a factor mitogenic for B lymphoc...

Tetanus is now so rare in the United States that few physicians encounter a case in the course of their careers. The 96% reduction in the incidence of reported tetanus cases and elimination of neonatal tetanus since the late 1940s can be attributed to the effectiveness of widespread vaccination with tetanus toxoid–containing vaccines, as well as improved wound care and delivery practices.1 Desp...

Although a T-dependent antibody response (TDAR) assay is generally recommended as the first-line immune function assay in nonclinical immunotoxicity evaluation, second-line assays such as delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to measure cell-mediated responses can provide helpful additional information. In this study, male Cynomolgus monkeys were injected intramuscularly either once or twice with...

A significant resurgence of early cases of pertussis is being observed in infants too young to have yet completed their three-dose vaccination schedule. In this study, murine models of immunization and Bordetella pertussis challenge were adapted to early life. This allowed comparative evaluation of immunogenicity and protective efficacy of immunization initiated in the neonatal period (7-day-ol...

To gain insight into why antibody responses to malarial antigens tend to be short lived, we studied antigen-specific memory B cells from donors in an area where malaria is endemic. We compared antibody and memory B cell responses to tetanus toxoid with those to 3 Plasmodium falciparum candidate vaccine antigens: the C-terminal portion of merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1(19)), apical membrane a...

BACKGROUND It is known that antineoplastic treatment may induce secondary immunodeficiency, but studies after childhood sarcoma are rare. Since 1998, the Late Effects Surveillance System (LESS) of the German Society for Paediatric Oncology and Haematology (GPOH) prospectively registers late effects in soft tissue-, osteo- and Ewing's sarcoma patients treated within the therapy trials EICESS-92/...