Prediction of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Effectiveness against Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Using Opsonophagocytic Activity and Antibody Concentrations Determined by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay with 22F Adsorption

We compared the abilities of two serological readouts, antipolysaccharide IgG antibody concentrations and opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) titers, to predict the clinical effectiveness of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vCRM) against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). We also assessed the accuracy of the previously established thresholds for GlaxoSmithKline's enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with 22F adsorption (22F-ELISA) (>= 0.2 mu g/ml) and OPA assay (titer, >= 8) in predicting effectiveness. We showed that following a 3-dose 7vCRM primary vaccination, the serological response rates as determined using thresholds of >= 0.2 mu g/ml IgG and an OPA titer of >= 8 corresponded well with overall effectiveness against IPD. In addition, the OPA assay seemed to better predict serotype-specific effectiveness than enzyme-linked immunoassay. Finally, when applied to post-dose-2 immune responses, both thresholds also corresponded well with the overall IPD effectiveness following a 2-dose 7vCRM primary vaccination. These results support the importance of the OPA assay in evaluating immune responses to pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.