Long-term effects of smallpox vaccination on expression of the HIV-1 co-receptor CCR5 in women

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 11; p. e0207259
• Main Authors: Beck, K B, Hønge, B L, Olesen, J S, Petersen, M S, Jespersen, S, Wejse, C, da Silva, Z J, Medina, C, Té, D D S, Moeller, B K, Benn, C S, Aaby, P, Erikstrup, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 15-11-2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Biology and Life Sciences; Buffer solutions; CCR5 protein; Chemokines; Down-regulation; Flow cytometry; Health risks; HIV; Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Immunology; Infections; Infectious diseases; Leukemia; Long-term effects; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; People and places; Receptors; Research and Analysis Methods; Risk management; Risk reduction; Smallpox; Vaccination; Vaccines; Womens health; Denmark; Guinea Bissau; Aarhus Denmark
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207259

Smallpox vaccinations were stopped globally in 1980. Recent studies have shown that in women, being smallpox vaccinated was associated with a reduced risk of HIV infection compared with not being smallpox vaccinated. At the initial infection, HIV-1 most often uses CCR5 as a co-receptor to infect the T-lymphocytes. We therefore investigated whether smallpox vaccination is associated with a down-regulation of CCR5 on the surface of peripheral T-lymphocytes in healthy women in Guinea-Bissau.
We included HIV seronegative women from Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, born before 1974, with and without a smallpox vaccination scar. Blood samples were stabilised in a TransFix buffer solution and stained for flow cytometry according to a T-cell maturation profile.
Ninety-seven women were included in the study; 52 with a smallpox vaccination scar and 45 without a scar. No association between smallpox vaccination scar and CCR5 expression was found in any T-lymphocyte subtype.
Among HIV seronegative women, being smallpox vaccinated more than 40 years ago was not associated with a down-regulation of CCR5 receptors on the surface of peripheral T-lymphocytes.