T-cell activation and induction of antibodies and memory T cells by immunization with inactivated Japanese encephalitis vaccine.

Mouse brain-derived inactivated Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine is the only currently internationally accepted vaccine against JE virus. We analyzed cellular and humoral immune responses to the JE vaccine in healthy adults in order to understand the protective immunity induced by this vaccine. Immunization with the JE vaccine induced T-cell activation in vivo, demonstrated by increase in the plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-2 and soluble CD8. JE virus-specific antibodies determined in radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP), hemagglutination inhibition (HI), and neutralization assays were also induced by immunization with the JE vaccine. JE virus-specific memory T cells were detected 60 days after immunization. These results suggest that protective immunity induced by the inactivated JE vaccine includes JE virus-specific T cells as well as antibodies with multiple biological activities.