Pneumococcal vaccination may induce anti-oxidized low-density lipoprotein antibodies that have potentially protective effects against cardiovascular disease

• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.03.084
• Publication Date: 2012-04-14T02:20:12Z
• Authors: B. Suthers; P. Hansbro; S. Thambar; M. McEvoy; R. Peel; J. Attia
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; 570; pneumococcal vaccine; Vaccination; ox-LDL; Middle Aged; anti-oxLDL antibodies; Atherosclerosis; Antibodies, Bacterial; 3. Good health; Lipoproteins, LDL; Pneumococcal Vaccines; 03 medical and health sciences; cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular Diseases; Immunoglobulin G; Humans; Female; Aged; Autoantibodies

Many animal and human studies have found an inverse association between anti-oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) antibodies (anti-oxLDL) and atherosclerotic burden. Furthermore, anti-oxLDL antibodies have been shown to cause regression of atherosclerotic plaque in mice. Animal studies indicate that the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine may induce the production of these potentially protective anti-oxLDL antibodies, and human epidemiological studies support their potentially beneficial effect in reducing cardiovascular events. Here we describe the association between self-reported pneumococcal vaccination, vaccination verified by linkage to health records, and anti-pneumococcal antibody titers, and anti-ox-LDL titers in a group of 116 older people. We found a bimodal distribution of anti-oxLDL antibodies, and a significant association between pneumococcal IgG and anti-oxLDL antibody titers that remained after multivariate adjustment for potential confounders (p=0.04). There was no significant association between self-reported vaccination or vaccination verified by health record linkage and ox-LDL titers, which may be due to reporting error or variability in response to the vaccine. These results support a mechanistic link between pneumococcal vaccination and a potential protective effect on cardiovascular disease, and indicate that self-reported or verified vaccine status may not be sufficient to detect this association.