Enhanced lymphoproliferation to influenza a virus following vaccination of older, chronically III adults with live-attenuated viruses

To question whether cellular immunity was stimulated by live-attenuated viruses in older, chronically ill adults, we intranasally inoculated 2 groups of volunteers (n = 37) with 2 different cold-recombinant, live-attenuated influenza A virus vaccines, and measured peripheral blood mononuclear cell responsiveness to influenza antigens and mitogen before and after vaccination. Lymphocyte proliferation to vaccine virus and to heterosubtypic influenza A virus increased postvaccination even in the subpopulation of vaccines who had a 4-fold nasal wash antibody titer rise to vaccine virus hemagglutinin, but no concomitant serum antibody titer rise to hemagglutinin. Vaccines aged greater than or equal to 65 years exhibited a rise in proliferation to vaccine virus postvaccination, as well. Based on lymphocyte proliferation, vaccine virus infection induced an enhanced cell-mediated immune response. Higher prevaccination serum antibody titers, however, were associated with protection from vaccine virus infection, and higher lymphocyte proliferation was not.