The
inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) is used for protection against
poliomyelitis in The Netherlands. It is not clear, however, whether IPV vaccination can lead to priming of the mucosal immune system and the induction of
IgA. It has been demonstrated that IPV vaccination is able to induce strong memory
IgA responses in the serum of persons who have been naturally exposed to wild-type poliovirus. This has led to the hypothesis that IPV vaccination is able to induce poliovirus-specific
IgA at mucosal sites in persons who have been previously primed with live poliovirus at mucosal sites. To test this hypothesis, the kinetics of the
IgA response in serum and saliva after IPV vaccination were examined in persons previously vaccinated with
oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) or IPV. ELISA and
enzyme-linked immunospot assays were used for the detection of poliovirus-specific
IgA responses. In addition, B cell populations were separated on the basis of the expression of mucosal (alpha4beta7
integrin) and peripheral homing receptors (
L-selectin). Parenteral IPV vaccination was able to boost systemic and mucosal
IgA responses in previously OPV-vaccinated persons only. None of the previously vaccinated IPV recipients responded with the production of
IgA in saliva. In agreement with this finding, a large percentage of the poliovirus-specific
IgA-producing lymphocytes detected in previous OPV recipients expressed the alpha4beta7
integrin. It is concluded that IPV vaccination alone is insufficient to induce a mucosal
IgA response against poliovirus. In mucosally (OPV-) primed individuals, however, booster vaccination with IPV leads to a strong mucosal
IgA response.