Frontiers in Immunology (Nov 2021)

Potential Association Between Dietary Fibre and Humoral Response to the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine

  • Alissa Cait,
  • Anna Mooney,
  • Anna Mooney,
  • Hazel Poyntz,
  • Hazel Poyntz,
  • Nick Shortt,
  • Nick Shortt,
  • Angela Jones,
  • Angela Jones,
  • Aurélie Gestin,
  • Aurélie Gestin,
  • Katie Gell,
  • Alix Grooby,
  • David O’Sullivan,
  • David O’Sullivan,
  • Jeffry S. Tang,
  • Jeffry S. Tang,
  • Wayne Young,
  • Wayne Young,
  • Darmiga Thayabaran,
  • Darmiga Thayabaran,
  • Jenny Sparks,
  • Jenny Sparks,
  • Tess Ostapowicz,
  • Tess Ostapowicz,
  • Audrey Tay,
  • Audrey Tay,
  • Sally D. Poppitt,
  • Sally D. Poppitt,
  • Sarah Elliott,
  • Sarah Elliott,
  • Georgia Wakefield,
  • Georgia Wakefield,
  • Amber Parry-Strong,
  • Amber Parry-Strong,
  • Jacqui Ralston,
  • Richard Beasley,
  • Richard Beasley,
  • Mark Weatherall,
  • Irene Braithwaite,
  • Irene Braithwaite,
  • Elizabeth Forbes-Blom,
  • Elizabeth Forbes-Blom,
  • Olivier Gasser,
  • Olivier Gasser

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.765528
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

Read online

Influenza vaccination is an effective public health measure to reduce the risk of influenza illness, particularly when the vaccine is well matched to circulating strains. Notwithstanding, the efficacy of influenza vaccination varies greatly among vaccinees due to largely unknown immunological determinants, thereby dampening population-wide protection. Here, we report that dietary fibre may play a significant role in humoral vaccine responses. We found dietary fibre intake and the abundance of fibre-fermenting intestinal bacteria to be positively correlated with humoral influenza vaccine-specific immune responses in human vaccinees, albeit without reaching statistical significance. Importantly, this correlation was largely driven by first-time vaccinees; prior influenza vaccination negatively correlated with vaccine immunogenicity. In support of these observations, dietary fibre consumption significantly enhanced humoral influenza vaccine responses in mice, where the effect was mechanistically linked to short-chain fatty acids, the bacterial fermentation product of dietary fibre. Overall, these findings may bear significant importance for emerging infectious agents, such as COVID-19, and associated de novo vaccinations.

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