Antigen-presenting B cells and helper T cells cooperatively mediate intravirionic antigenic competition between influenza A virus surface glycoproteins.

Parenteral vaccination of BALB/c mice primed by infection with H3N2 variants of influenza A virus results in a reduced production of N2 antibody in response to homologous (H3N2) vaccine compared with the response to an H7N2 vaccine equal in N2 immunologenicity. We now have studied the interaction in vitro of purified splenic B and T lymphocytes from variably immunized mice to ascertain the cellular basis of the hemagglutinin (HA)-influenced antibody response to neuraminidase (NA). Assay of the proliferative response of T cells in B/T-cell mixtures stimulated by H3N1 (HA-specific) and H6N2 (NA-specific) reassortant (recombinant) viruses in vitro has enabled us to differentiate cellular responses to HA and NA antigens. Using a factorial design in analysis of B/T-cell mixtures, we have shown that: (i) intravirionic HA is dominant over NA in both B- and T-cell priming; (ii) an increase in H3-specific B cells occurs in mice administered boosters of H3N2 vaccine, and an increase in N2-specific B cells occurs in those given a booster of H7N2 vaccine; and (iii) memory B cells function as antigen-presenting cells and interact with memory helper T cells in the mediation of intravirionic HA-NA antigenic competition in favor of HA. The damping of response to the NA antigen in favor of HA with reinfection prohibits balanced immunologic response to the two antigens. The present studies define further the complex immunology of influenza virus infection.