Analysis of Bone Marrow and Blood B Cell Immune Responses to Influenza Vaccination

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02485639
• Recruitment Status: Completed
• First Posted: June 30, 2015
• Last Update Posted: August 12, 2021
• Sponsor: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Study Description

Brief Summary:

This is a Phase IV open label and single arm study enrolling up to 55 healthy males and non-pregnant females in a single site, 18-49 years old, inclusive. The study is designed to assess the humoral response to influenza vaccination and the longevity of humoral immunity to influenza vaccination in healthy adults. The study duration is up to 4 years. After 1 year, subjects will be offered the opportunity to participate in the study for up to 3 consecutive years provided eligibility criteria is met each year. Subjects who elect to continue in the study after first year of participation will be rescreened to verify continued eligibility and re-consented prior to subsequent participation. The primary study objective is to investigate the longevity of humoral immunity to influenza virus in humans.

Note: Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, all non-essential research was halted in mid-March 2020. New enrollments were placed on hold for this study. Follow-up visits were also halted, which impacted the timing of participants' subsequent follow-up visits. Participant visits for Day 7 and Day 14 were not impacted. For this study, there are participants whose Day 28 and Day 90 visits were impacted by the temporary halting of non-essential research studies. As such, a request is submitted to extend the missed visit windows for the Day 28 and Day 90 visits for a maximum of up to 180 days, to ensure that ample time is available to bring participants back for their missed visits. Enrollment for this study ended on March 31, 2020.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Influenza; Influenza Immunisation	Biological: Influenza Virus Vaccine Inactivated	Phase 4

Detailed Description:

This is a Phase IV open label and single arm study enrolling up to 55 healthy males and non-pregnant females in a single site, 18-49 years old, inclusive. The study is designed to assess the humoral response to influenza vaccination and the longevity of humoral immunity to influenza vaccination in healthy adults. The laboratory technique will characterize persistence and clonotype of antigen specific B-cells and plasmablasts in blood and bone marrow. Enrolled subjects will receive licensed seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine (administered as a part of the study). The vaccine will be administered according to the package insert, and study participants will donate serial samples of blood and bone marrow aspirate for immunology monitoring. Safety will be assessed from the time of study enrollment through the last study visit, via monitoring of vital signs, change in health status, and targeted physical exam with safety labs prior to each bone marrow aspirate procedure. Repeated measurements of humoral immunity will be obtained at 7 days, 14 days, 28 days, 90 days and at one year post vaccination to assess the magnitude, clonal diversity and persistence of B-cell responses to influenza vaccination. The study duration is up to 4 years. After 1 year, subjects will be offered the opportunity to participate in the study for up to 3 consecutive years provided eligibility criteria is met each year. Subjects who elect to continue in the study after first year of participation will be rescreened to verify continued eligibility and re-consented prior to subsequent participation. Re-enrolling subjects will receive new subject identifiers and will count towards the total enrollment number for subsequent years of participation. A separate subject record will be maintained each year a subject re-enrolls in the study. Enrollment for the next year will begin with the availability of the seasonal flu vaccine. For subjects who elect to re-enroll in the study, the Day 365 visit (+/- 3 month window) would also be the Day 0 visit for the subsequent year. The primary study objective is to investigate the longevity of humoral immunity to influenza virus in humans. The secondary study objective is the longitudinal tracking of vaccine-induced B cell responses with special emphasis on broadly neutralizing HA stem-reactive responses.

Note: Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, all non-essential research was halted in mid-March 2020. New enrollments were placed on hold for this study. Follow-up visits were also halted, which impacted the timing of participants' subsequent follow-up visits. Participant visits for Day 7 and Day 14 were not impacted. For this study, there are participants whose Day 28 and Day 90 visits were impacted by the temporary halting of non-essential research studies. As such, a request is submitted to extend the missed visit windows for the Day 28 and Day 90 visits for a maximum of up to 180 days, to ensure that ample time is available to bring participants back for their missed visits. Enrollment for this study ended on March 31, 2020.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional (Clinical Trial)
• Actual Enrollment: 27 participants
• Allocation: N/A
• Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)
• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Official Title: Analysis of Bone Marrow and Blood B Cell Immune Responses to Influenza Vaccination
• Actual Study Start Date: December 23, 2015
• Actual Primary Completion Date: December 31, 2020
• Actual Study Completion Date: December 31, 2020

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
Experimental: Arm 1; All study participants will receive licensed inactivated influenza vaccine intramuscularly on Day 1.	Biological: Influenza Virus Vaccine Inactivated; A synthetic vaccine consisting of three inactivated influenza viruses: two different influenza type A strains and one influenza type B strain. Trivalent influenza vaccine is formulated annually, based on influenza strains projected to be prevalent in the upcoming flu season. All participants will receive vaccine IM on day 1.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Number of influenza-specific antibody secreting cells (ASC) present in the blood [ Time Frame: Day 7 ]
2. Number of influenza-specific antibody secreting cells (ASC) present in the bone marrow [ Time Frame: Day 0 through 365 ]
3. Number of influenza-specific memory B cells present in the blood [ Time Frame: Day 0 through 365 ]
4. Percentage of seroconverting subjects who maintain a hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titer > / = 1:40 [ Time Frame: Day 365 ]
5. Percentage of subjects achieving seroconversion to each of the 3 strains in the vaccine [ Time Frame: Day 180 ]
   Seroconversion defined as having a pre-vaccination hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) titer < 1:40 against a particular strain and a day 28 post-vaccination titer > / = 1:40 against the same strain

Secondary Outcome Measures :

1. Frequency of hemagglutinin stem reactive responses to influenza vaccine among blood plasmablasts [ Time Frame: Day 7 ]
2. Frequency of hemagglutinin stem reactive responses to influenza vaccine among the bone marrow plasma cells [ Time Frame: Day 365 ]

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years to 49 Years (Adult)
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Male or non-pregnant female subjects between 18 and 49 years of age (inclusive).
2. Subjects capable of providing written informed consent prior to initiation of any study procedures.
3. Subjects able to understand and comply with planned study procedures and be available for all study visits.

4. Safety labs:

   • White blood cell count (WBC), within reference range of lower limit of normal of 4,000 per microliter (uL), and upper limit of normal of 10,000 per microliter (uL).
   • Hemoglobin, within reference range of lower limit of normal of 11.4 grams per deciliter (gm/dL) and upper limit of normal of 16.1 grams per deciliter (gm/dL).
   • Hematocrit, within reference range of lower limit of normal of 33.3 percent and an upper limit of normal of 46.5 percent.
   • Platelet Count, within reference range of lower limit of normal of 150,000 per microliter (uL) and upper limit of normal of 400,000 per microliter (uL).
   • Prothrombin Time (PT/INR), PT below or equal to the upper limit of normal of 13.1 seconds; International Normalized Ratio (INR) within normal reference range of less than 1.5 (normal range for non-anti-coagulated patients).
   • Creatinine within reference range of lower limit of normal of 0.4 milligrams per deciliter (mg / dL) and upper limit of normal of 1.2 milligrams per deciliter (mg / dL).
   • Potassium, within reference range of lower limit of normal of 3.6 millimolar (mM) and upper limit of normal of 5.1 millimolar (mM).
5. Heart rate > / = 55 to < / = 100 per minute.
6. Systolic blood pressure > / = 90 to < / = 150 millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
7. Diastolic blood pressure < 90 millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
8. Oral temperature < 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Respirations even, unlabored, and > 10 / minute to < 20 / minute.
10. Female subjects of child bearing potential must have a negative urine pregnancy test at the screening visit, enrollment visit and prior to subsequent bone marrow aspirate procedures. Female subjects of childbearing potential must agree to practice abstinence, use a barrier method of birth control, or use an U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved form of birth control.
11. Subjects who have not received seasonal flu vaccine for the current year (September - June).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. If female, active pregnancy or breast-feeding or plans to become pregnant during study participation.
2. Subject report of having any medical disease or condition that, in the opinion of the site principal investigator or appropriate sub-investigator, is a contraindication to study participation. This includes any acute or chronic medical disease or condition, defined as persisting 3 months (defined as 90 days) or longer, that would place the subject at an unacceptable risk of injury, render the subject unable to meet the requirements of the protocol, or may interfere with the evaluation of responses or the subject's successful completion of this study.
3. Subject report of taking anticoagulants, or long-term (greater than 14 days) systemic steroids or other immunosuppressive medications.
4. Subject report of known allergy to lidocaine.
5. Subject report of known hypersensitivity or allergy to eggs, egg or chicken protein, report of allergy to components of the study vaccine or other components of the study vaccine.
6. Subject report of known latex allergy.
7. Subject report of a history of severe reactions following previous immunization with licensed or unlicensed influenza virus vaccines.
8. Subject report of a history of Guillain-Barre syndrome.
9. Subjects who believe they cannot tolerate the bone marrow aspirations without sedation.
10. Subjects with an active infection or that have an acute illness within 72 hours prior to study vaccination. Subject having had an acute illness which is nearly resolved with only minor residual symptoms remaining is allowable if, in the opinion of the site principal investigator or appropriate sub-investigator, the residual symptoms will not interfere with the ability to assess safety parameters as required by the protocol.
11. Subjects who are participating in another clinical trial involving the use of investigational agents or vaccines.

Contacts and Locations

Locations

United States, Georgia

Emory Clinic - Winship Cancer Institute

Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322-1059

Sponsors and Collaborators

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

More Information

• Responsible Party: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02485639
• Other Study ID Numbers: 14-0059; HHSN272201400004C
• First Posted: June 30, 2015
• Last Update Posted: August 12, 2021
• Last Verified: March 17, 2021

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No
• Product Manufactured in and Exported from the U.S.: No

Keywords provided by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):

HA-specific plasmablasts; humoral immunity; influenza; memory B cells

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Influenza, Human; Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; Orthomyxoviridae Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases