Both ageing and frailty status impact vaccine-induced transcriptomic profiles and subsequent humoral immunity: results from the VITAL cohort
- 1Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands; Center for Infectious Disease Control, Nation
Abstract
Vaccine responses vary across individuals due to differences in ageing and health status. Using transcriptomic profiling, we analyzed early gene expression profiles after influenza (QIV) followed by pneumococcal (PCV13) vaccination in 148 participants spanning young, middle-aged, and older adults. The two vaccines induced distinct immune signatures: QIV elicited innate and interferon immune activation, while PCV13 triggered inflammation-based responses. Older adults showed weaker but similar transcriptomic profiles compared to young adults. Among older adults, frailty, in addition to age, was strongly associated with reduced innate responses. In addition, we identified associations between early-stage transcriptomic profiles and later-stage antibody responses for QIV; however, no such associations were observed for PCV13. Importantly, observed group differences arose not from altered immune modules but from differences in the magnitude of gene expression, paving the way for immune-boosting interventions to enhance early gene expression in at-risk populations.
Related
- Trained immunity in cancer immunotherapy and vaccine development: mechanisms, evidence gaps, and translational opportunities
- Limited cross strain CMV protection by a bivalent (gB/pp65) vaccine is based on an impaired gB antibody response and evasion of pp65 cell mediated immunity
- Transcriptomic analysis of cecal mucosal immunity in SPF White Leghorn chicks infected with precocious and parent strains of Eimeria tenella
- A randomised, placebo-controlled study to assess whether antibiotic-mediated disruption of the gut microbiota impairs BCG-induced specific and non-specific immunity in young, healthy adults: protocol for the Antibiotics and Vaccine Immune Responses Study (AVIRS).
- Smallpox Vaccine Elicits CD8+ T Cell Immunity Persisting Over Four Decades with Cross-Recognition of Monkeypox Virus
BibTeX
@misc{joshi2026both,
title = {{Both ageing and frailty status impact vaccine-induced transcriptomic profiles and subsequent humoral immunity: results from the VITAL cohort}},
author = {M. Joshi and C. Carre and A. Cevirgel and E. Bijvank and M. Chabaud-Riou and V. Courtois and E. Chautard and D. Larocque and W. Burny and L. Beckers and A.-M. Buisman and N. Rots and M. van der Heiden and J. van Beek and Y. van Sleen and D. van Baarle},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.26.26361408},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.26361408v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Both ageing and frailty status impact vaccine-induced transcriptomic profiles and subsequent humoral immunity: results from the VITAL cohort
AU - M. Joshi
AU - C. Carre
AU - A. Cevirgel
AU - E. Bijvank
AU - M. Chabaud-Riou
AU - V. Courtois
AU - E. Chautard
AU - D. Larocque
AU - W. Burny
AU - L. Beckers
AU - A.-M. Buisman
AU - N. Rots
AU - M. van der Heiden
AU - J. van Beek
AU - Y. van Sleen
AU - D. van Baarle
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/26
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.26.26361408
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.26361408v1
AB - Vaccine responses vary across individuals due to differences in ageing and health status. Using transcriptomic profiling, we analyzed early gene expression profiles after influenza (QIV) followed by pneumococcal (PCV13) vaccination in 148 participants spanning young, middle-aged, and older adults. The two vaccines induced distinct immune signatures: QIV elicited innate and interferon immune activation, while PCV13 triggered inflammation-based responses. Older adults showed weaker but similar transcriptomic profiles compared to young adults. Among older adults, frailty, in addition to age, was strongly associated with reduced innate responses. In addition, we identified associations between early-stage transcriptomic profiles and later-stage antibody responses for QIV; however, no such associations were observed for PCV13. Importantly, observed group differences arose not from altered immune modules but from differences in the magnitude of gene expression, paving the way for immune-boosting interventions to enhance early gene expression in at-risk populations.
ER -