Surface antibody and cytokine response to recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cell (CHO) hepatitis B vaccine

Abstract

ObjectiveTo compare the immune responses of the 10μg and 20μg doses of CHO hepatitis B vaccine on adults. MethodsAdults aged 18–45 years who gave a history of never having received hepatitis B vaccine and lacked serologic evidence of infection to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection or previous vaccination were enrolled into the study. A total of 642 eligible participants were randomized to receive 3 doses of either the 10μg or the 20μg formulation of CHO hepatitis B vaccine in a 0–1–6 month schedule. Each study subject had a serologic specimen collected one month following the third vaccine dose that was tested for markers of HBV infection and anti-HBs by Abbott I2000. Persons who tested negative for anti-HBs negative persons were tested for HBV DNA. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with antibody response. Among the participants, 153 subjects had their lymphocytes cultivated and tested for cytokine production. Enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) was used to test spot numbers of IL-4, IFN-γ which produced by lymphocyte. ResultsThe anti-HBs seroconversion rate was 88.8% (95% CI: 85.4–92.2%) and 95.3% (95% CI: 93.0–97.6%), respectively in 10μg and 20μg group. Geometric mean titers (GMT) were 173.42mIU/ml and 585.51mIU/ml, respectively in 10μg and 20μg groups. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that diabetes, spouse is hepatitis B virus infector, older age and receipt of the 10μg dose were all negatively associated with antibody response (P<.05). Cellular immunity results showed: IL-4 immunity spot numbers in 20μg group was higher than 10μg group. With anti-HBs increased, the IL-4 immunity spot numbers increased significantly which had significant positive correlation (Spearman coefficient=0.538, P<0.0001). IFN-γ spot numbers had no statistical significant between the two groups. ConclusionThe humoral immunity and cytokines response among the group that received the 20μg CHO hepatitis B vaccine dose was superior compared to the group that received the 10μg dose. The 20μg dose of CHO hepatitis B vaccine should be prioritized for adult vaccination programs in China.