Predominant inflammatory cytokine secretion pattern in response to two doses of live rubella vaccine in healthy vaccinees

We conducted a population-based study on 738 schoolchildren who received two doses of rubella vaccine in order to determine cytokine secretion patterns and their associations with demographic and clinical variables. The results showed a robust rubella-specific inflammatory cytokine response characterized by high median [inter-quartile range (IQR)] secretion levels (in pg/mL) of IL-6 [3681.0 (3160.0, 4052.0)], GM-CSF [28.0 (23.6, 32.6)], and TNF-α [29.7 (−7.0, 89.2)]. We also detected modest levels of rubella-specific secretion of Th1 cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ, while IL-12p40 was undetectable. In contrast, rubella-specific Th2 responses were hardly detectable. Age at vaccination, enrollment, and time elapsed between last vaccination and enrollment was significantly associated with the outcome of IL-2, IL-6, and IFN-γ secretion. These results suggest an immune-deviation or “skewing” from Th1/Th2 cytokine patterns towards a predominant inflammatory response upon in vitro rubella virus stimulation.