Lung transplant patients’ T cell responses to influenza vaccine viruses between seasons

SummaryWe hypothesized that T cell responses to influenza viruses by lung transplant and healthy individuals would be similar. Twelve lung transplant patients and 12 healthy individuals received influenza vaccines during two seasons. Lymphocytes were isolated for the trans-vivo delayed-type hypersensitivity assay from blood samples following immunization. T cell responses to all three inactivated influenza antigens from each were similar between the groups. However, the response to the A/New Calendonia (H1N1) virus by transplant patients was greater than the healthy controls’ response, but only in the first season. The magnitude of the T cell responses in lung transplant patients is similar to those of healthy control individuals. These responses may be important in T cell memory.