Use and Clinical Interpretation of Pneumococcal Antibody Measurements in the Evaluation of Humoral Immune Function

ABSTRACTPneumococcal vaccination is a commonly used technique for assessing the humoral immune status of a patient suspected of having immunodeficiency. Interpretation of what constitutes an adequate response, however, can be challenging. This is due to the complexity of the data generated from serotype-specific assays, historical variations in the assays used to measure pneumococcal antibodies, and varying recommendations on the relevant cut points that define response. In this review, we summarize the historical evolution of assays used for this purpose and discuss the analytical considerations that have influenced published data. We also examine current clinical recommendations for defining an adequate response to vaccination, with a particular focus on the interpretation of serotype-specific data generated by multiplex assays.

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Multilaboratory Assessment of Threshold versus Fold-Change Algorithms for Minimizing Analytical Variability in Multiplexed Pneumococcal IgG Measurements

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology ◽

10.1128/cvi.00235-14 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 21 (7) ◽

pp. 982-988 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Thomas M. Daly ◽

Jerry W. Pickering ◽

Xiaochun Zhang ◽

Harry E. Prince ◽

Harry R. Hill

Keyword(s):

Gold Standard ◽

Pneumococcal Vaccination ◽

Fold Increase ◽

Fold Change ◽

Clinical Classification ◽

Patient Response ◽

Cut Points ◽

Humoral Immune ◽

Adequate Response

ABSTRACTPneumococcal vaccination is frequently used to assess a patient's humoral immune function. The comparison of pre- and postvaccination levels of antipneumococcal antibodies is widely held to be the gold standard for documenting a response. However, many of the published criteria for defining an adequate response are based on assays that are no longer widely available. We compared the clinical classification of patient response by multiplex pneumococcal assays currently performed at three large reference laboratories using a variety of published criteria for defining responses in adults. The classification of responders agreed for 79% of the patients when using a threshold-based algorithm compared to 57 to 96% of the patients when using various fold-change-based algorithms. The highest rate of discordance was seen when the most stringent criteria for response were used (4-fold increase postvaccination in 70% of serotypes). The discordant samples tended to show similar patterns of response across all three assays, with small variations in the final number of serotypes converting postvaccination. We conclude that the use of published cut points for documenting response to pneumococcal vaccination can be affected by interlaboratory differences in pneumococcal assays, particularly for algorithms that require large fold changes for a response to be documented. However, the overall patterns of response were similar in virtually all samples, regardless of the assay used.

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A One-Minute Blood Test Detects Decreased Immune Function and Increased Clinical Risk in COVID-19 Patients

10.21203/rs.3.rs-635353/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chirajyoti Deb ◽

Allan Salinas ◽

Tianyu Zheng ◽

Aurea Middleton ◽

Katelyn Kern ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Function ◽

Disease Severity ◽

Humoral Immunity ◽

Blood Test ◽

Immune Status ◽

Clinical Severity ◽

Immune Functions ◽

Humoral Immune ◽

Clinical Risk ◽

Negative Controls

Abstract Upon infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, most people will develop no or mild symptoms. However, a small percentage of the population will become severely ill, and some will succumb to death. The clinical severity of COVID-19 has a close connection to the dysregulation of the patient’s immune functions. We previously developed a simple, nanoparticle-enabled blood test that can determine the humoral immune status in animals. In this study, we applied this new test to analyze the immune function in relation to disease severity in COVID-19 patients. From the testing of 153 COVID-19 patient samples and 142 negative controls, we detected a drastic decrease of humoral immunity in COVID-19 patients who developed moderate to severe symptoms, but not in patients with no or mild symptoms. The new test may be potentially used to monitor the immunity change and predict the clinical risk of patients with COVID-19.

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Impact of Analytical Variability on Clinical Interpretation of Multiplex Pneumococcal Serology Assays

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology ◽

10.1128/cvi.00223-13 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 20 (7) ◽

pp. 957-961 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Xiaochun Zhang ◽

Kelly Simmerman ◽

Belinda Yen-Lieberman ◽

Thomas M. Daly

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Pneumococcal Vaccination ◽

Systematic Bias ◽

Humoral Immune ◽

Multiplex Assays ◽

Analytical Variability ◽

Polysaccharide Antigens ◽

Definition Of ◽

Integrated Assessments

ABSTRACTThe response to pneumococcal vaccination can be used to assess a patient's humoral immune response to polysaccharide antigens. Multiplex assays measuring serotype-specific levels of pneumococcal antibodies are often used for this purpose, and clinical algorithms have been published to assist in the definition of an adequate immune response. We evaluated whether interlaboratory variability in multiplex pneumococcal serology assays would affect the clinical classification of the immune response. Specimens from 57 patients were analyzed at three reference laboratories with different multiplex assays to measure pneumococcal serology. Analytical correlation and clinical agreement in the classification of a patient's vaccination status by the three methods were compared. Although substantial variation in the quantitative antibody levels measured by different laboratories was seen, the qualitative classification of individual serologic results showed a high degree of agreement between labs and the ultimate classification of a patient as “protected” or “nonprotected” was the same for most patients. The majority of discordant classifications were driven by a systematic bias in results from one of the assays rather than by random error. These data suggest that the use of integrated assessments based on multiple serotypes can compensate for much of the analytical variability seen between laboratories. Knowledge of the analytical performance characteristics of a particular assay is most important when evaluating patients with results near clinical cut points.

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A 1-minute blood test detects decreased immune function and increased clinical risk in COVID-19 patients

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-02863-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chirajyoti Deb ◽

Allan N. Salinas ◽

Tianyu Zheng ◽

Aurea Middleton ◽

Katelyn Kern ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Function ◽

Disease Severity ◽

Humoral Immunity ◽

Blood Test ◽

Immune Status ◽

Clinical Severity ◽

Immune Functions ◽

Humoral Immune ◽

Clinical Risk ◽

Negative Controls

AbstractUpon infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, most people will develop no or mild symptoms. However, a small percentage of the population will become severely ill, and some will succumb to death. The clinical severity of COVID-19 has a close connection to the dysregulation of the patient’s immune functions. We previously developed a simple, nanoparticle-enabled blood test that can determine the humoral immune status in animals. In this study, we applied this new test to analyze the immune function in relation to disease severity in COVID-19 patients. From the testing of 153 COVID-19 patient samples and 142 negative controls, we detected a drastic decrease of humoral immunity in COVID-19 patients who developed moderate to severe symptoms, but not in patients with no or mild symptoms. The new test may be potentially used to monitor the immunity change and predict the clinical risk of patients with COVID-19.

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Assessment of perceived immune status: comparison of a 1-item question versus the immune function questionnaire

10.26226/morressier.5785edc8d462b80296c996d2 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Deborah de Kruijff

Keyword(s):

Immune Function ◽

Immune Status

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Effect of Resveratrol Dry Suspension on Immune Function of Piglets

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2018/5952707 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Qiuting Fu ◽

Qiankun Cui ◽

Yi Yang ◽

Xinghong Zhao ◽

Xu Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Responses ◽

Immune Function ◽

Foot And Mouth Disease ◽

Classical Swine Fever ◽

Sod Activity ◽

Humoral And Cellular Immunity ◽

Humoral Immune ◽

Humoral Immune Responses ◽

Mouth Disease Virus ◽

Wide Range

Resveratrol, a polyphenolic plant antitoxin, has a wide range of pharmacological activities. In this study, we systematically evaluated the effects of resveratrol dry suspension (RDS) on immune function in piglets that were treated with different doses of RDS for 2 weeks. The results showed that the RDS has significant effects on the development, maturation, proliferation, and transformation of T lymphocytes. RDS could regulate humoral immune responses by upregulating the release of IFN-γ and downregulating the release of TNF-α. After piglets were vaccinated against classical swine fever virus and foot-and-mouth disease virus, the antibody titers were significantly increased. RDS treatment showed an excellent resistance to enhance T-SOD activity. Values of blood routine and blood biochemistry showed no toxicity. These results suggested that RDS could be considered as an adjuvant to enhance immune responses to vaccines, as well as dietary additives for animals to enhance humoral and cellular immunity.

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