IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Impaired B Cell and cTfh Immune Pathways Underlie Influenza Vaccine Hyporesponsiveness in Older, Frail, and Multimorbid Adults

Impaired B Cell and cTfh Immune Pathways Underlie Influenza Vaccine Hyporesponsiveness in Older, Frail, and Multimorbid Adults

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Video Summary

Joseph Kass presented research on why influenza vaccines work poorly in frail older adults. Using a cohort of long-term care residents, his team compared “hyper-responders” and “hypo-responders” based on hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers after flu vaccination. They performed RNA-seq on purified B cells and circulating T follicular helper (cTFH) cells before and 28 days after vaccination. Hyper-responders showed coordinated immune activation, including B-cell genes linked to germinal center activity and antibody maturation, especially AICDA. Their cTFH cells expressed supportive signals such as IL-21, CXCR5, and CXCL13. In contrast, hypo-responders showed weaker B-cell differentiation and higher TIGIT, a checkpoint inhibitor associated with reduced T-cell help. The study suggests that successful flu vaccination depends on synchronized B-cell and cTFH responses, while poor responders show fragmented signaling. Kass proposed TIGIT as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for improving vaccine responses in vulnerable older adults.

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Date April 16, 2026 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM

Room 102

Session Learning about Human Immune Responses from Vaccination and Immunotherapy

Speaker Joseph Kass

Track Vaccines and Immunotherapy (VAC)

Year 2026

Keywords

influenza vaccine response

frail older adults

B cells

circulating T follicular helper cells

TIGIT biomarker

April 16, 2026 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM

102

Learning about Human Immune Responses from Vaccination and Immunotherapy

Joseph Kass

Vaccines and Immunotherapy (VAC)

2026