Short communicationEffect of probiotic supplementation in the first 6 months of life on specific antibody responses to infant Hepatitis B vaccination
Introduction
Probiotics are promising immunomodulators which enhance innate and adaptive immunity in the host [1]. Gnotobiotic animal models have shown that probiotics have a significant immuno-stimulating effect on local and systemic immune responses. Furthermore, its safety record in humans has made probiotic supplementation an attractive strategy to modulate and enhance the immune system. Probiotics have been conferred GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization expert panel [2], and are considered safe in the neonate [3], [4]. Probiotic supplementation in young children has been shown to protect against gastrointestinal infections such as rotavirus gastroenteritis [5]. Probiotics have also been shown to enhance specific immune responses to vaccination in young children and adults. It increased the immunogenicity of orally administered vaccines such as that of rotavirus [6], Salmonella [7], polio [8] and cholera [9]; as well as enhanced antibody responses to parenterally administered vaccines, namely diphtheria, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae type b [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]. Probiotics therefore have an adjuvant effect by enhancing immunogenicity of vaccines. This study assessed the effect of probiotic supplementation in the first 6 months of age on specific IgG antibody responses to Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccination. To our knowledge, there have been no previous reports on the effect of probiotics on HepB vaccination in infants.
Section snippets
Study design
This study was part of a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00318695) which evaluated the effect of supplementation of probiotics in the first 6 months of life on eczema in at-risk infants [15]. We recruited 253 newborns with a history of allergic disease in a first degree relative from the antenatal clinics at the National University Hospital, Singapore, between May 2004 and June 2006. Written informed consent was obtained from all families. The study
Baseline characteristics and participants
Families were assessed at the antenatal clinic and 253 newborns were recruited into the study. During the follow-up period, 3 subjects from the probiotic group and 6 subjects from the placebo group did not complete the study and blood samples were not collected. At the 12-month visit, 11 subjects refused blood taking. There were 20 subjects who received alternative vaccine schedules (other than schedule A or B) involving combination vaccines and these subjects were excluded from analysis.
There
Discussion
HepB vaccination is part of the WHO expanded program of immunization. Strategies that may improve immunogenicity of the vaccine are welcomed, especially in infants born to HepB carrier mothers.
Probiotic supplementation has been shown to enhance the immunogenicity of various vaccines [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]. This study evaluated the effects of probiotics on HepB vaccine responses in infants vaccinated from birth. Two vaccine schedules were compared as the majority of
Acknowledgements
We sincerely appreciate the assistance of the PROMPT (PRObiotic in Milk for the Prevention of aTopy trial) team and the voluntary participation of all subjects in the study. This study was funded by the National Medical Research Council, Singapore (NMRC/0890/2004). The study milk formula was kindly sponsored by Nestle®, Vevey, Switzerland.
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2019, Current Opinion in VirologyCitation Excerpt :Certain probiotic strains have been shown to enhance Ab responses to oral vaccines against RV [35,119–121], Salmonella [122], PV [123], and Vibrio cholerae [124] in human volunteers, and this effect was observed after a short period (1–5 weeks) of probiotic treatment. The positive effect of probiotics on immune responses was also seen in parenterally administered vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, Haemophilus influenzae type B, and hepatitis B [125–127] in infants after a six-month period. However, no mechanistic explanations for the observed effects or detailed microbiome analysis were available from these studies.
Probiotics and the immunological response to infant vaccinations; a double-blind randomized controlled trial
2019, Clinical Microbiology and InfectionCitation Excerpt :Antibody titres against diphtheria and tetanus toxoid in the 6-month-old children showed no significant differences between the probiotic and placebo group, but for Haemophilus influenzae type B, concentrations tended to be higher in the probiotic group [17]. The same trend of Haemophilus influenzae type B IgG level was observed in another study [18]. A recent study also did not find any differences after probiotic supplementation in diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and hepatitis B antibody titres [19].