New Clues to Links Between Gulf War Illness and Anthrax Vaccine

TOPLINE: Gulf War Illness (GWI) symptom severity shows negative correlation with predicted binding affinity of anthrax vaccine antigen to Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Class II molecules. Stronger binding affinity is associated with weaker symptoms, with correlation coefficient r = -0.356 (P < .001).

METHODOLOGY: 

•      Researchers analyzed 458 Gulf War veterans: 397 men, 61 women, mean (SD) age 56.3 (0.5) years.
•      The aim was to determine the association between GWI symptom severity and binding affinity of anthrax Protective Antigen to HLA Class II molecules.
•      Analysis included in silico estimation of predicted binding affinity between 750 15-amino acid length subsequences of protective antigen and specific HLA Class II alleles carried by each participant.
•      Investigators assessed GWI symptom severity across 6 domains: fatigue, pain, neurological/cognitive/mood, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and dermatologic symptoms that began during or after Gulf War and lasted > 6 months. 

TAKEAWAY:

•      GWI symptom severity demonstrated significant negative correlation with strength of predicted binding affinity of protective antigen peptides to HLA-II molecules (correlation coefficient [r], −0.356; P < .001), independent of age (partial correlation, −0.376; P < .001).
•      Researchers identified 180 of 750 (24%) 15-mer epitopes with strong binding affinities to HLA-II molecules, suggesting good potential for CD4+ lymphocyte engagement.
•      Analysis revealed that DPB1 (15/31, 48%) and DRB1 (13/44, 30%) alleles showed strong binding affinity with Protective Antigen epitopes, while all DQB1 alleles (18/18, 100%) showed no strong binding.
•      The number of strong binding hits per individual ranged from 3 to 168, indicating wide variability in potential antibody production capability across participants.

IN PRACTICE: "The current findings, demonstrating a robust negative association between HLAanthrax vaccine PA binding and GWI symptom severity, strongly support the hypothesized role of reduced antibody production against anthrax vaccine PA in GWI that most probably underlies the findings supporting anthrax antigen persistence in GWI, in the broader context of antigen persistence in other diseases," Lisa M. James and Apostolos P. Georgopoulos write. 

SOURCE: The study was led by Lisa M. James and Apostolos P. Georgopoulos of the Brain Sciences Center at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System. It was published online on January 18 in Vaccines.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.

TOPLINE: Gulf War Illness (GWI) symptom severity shows negative correlation with predicted binding affinity of anthrax vaccine antigen to Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Class II molecules. Stronger binding affinity is associated with weaker symptoms, with correlation coefficient r = -0.356 (P < .001).

METHODOLOGY: 

•      Researchers analyzed 458 Gulf War veterans: 397 men, 61 women, mean (SD) age 56.3 (0.5) years.
•      The aim was to determine the association between GWI symptom severity and binding affinity of anthrax Protective Antigen to HLA Class II molecules.
•      Analysis included in silico estimation of predicted binding affinity between 750 15-amino acid length subsequences of protective antigen and specific HLA Class II alleles carried by each participant.
•      Investigators assessed GWI symptom severity across 6 domains: fatigue, pain, neurological/cognitive/mood, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and dermatologic symptoms that began during or after Gulf War and lasted > 6 months. 

TAKEAWAY:

•      GWI symptom severity demonstrated significant negative correlation with strength of predicted binding affinity of protective antigen peptides to HLA-II molecules (correlation coefficient [r], −0.356; P < .001), independent of age (partial correlation, −0.376; P < .001).
•      Researchers identified 180 of 750 (24%) 15-mer epitopes with strong binding affinities to HLA-II molecules, suggesting good potential for CD4+ lymphocyte engagement.
•      Analysis revealed that DPB1 (15/31, 48%) and DRB1 (13/44, 30%) alleles showed strong binding affinity with Protective Antigen epitopes, while all DQB1 alleles (18/18, 100%) showed no strong binding.
•      The number of strong binding hits per individual ranged from 3 to 168, indicating wide variability in potential antibody production capability across participants.

IN PRACTICE: "The current findings, demonstrating a robust negative association between HLAanthrax vaccine PA binding and GWI symptom severity, strongly support the hypothesized role of reduced antibody production against anthrax vaccine PA in GWI that most probably underlies the findings supporting anthrax antigen persistence in GWI, in the broader context of antigen persistence in other diseases," Lisa M. James and Apostolos P. Georgopoulos write. 

SOURCE: The study was led by Lisa M. James and Apostolos P. Georgopoulos of the Brain Sciences Center at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System. It was published online on January 18 in Vaccines.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.

TOPLINE: Gulf War Illness (GWI) symptom severity shows negative correlation with predicted binding affinity of anthrax vaccine antigen to Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Class II molecules. Stronger binding affinity is associated with weaker symptoms, with correlation coefficient r = -0.356 (P < .001).

METHODOLOGY: 

•      Researchers analyzed 458 Gulf War veterans: 397 men, 61 women, mean (SD) age 56.3 (0.5) years.
•      The aim was to determine the association between GWI symptom severity and binding affinity of anthrax Protective Antigen to HLA Class II molecules.
•      Analysis included in silico estimation of predicted binding affinity between 750 15-amino acid length subsequences of protective antigen and specific HLA Class II alleles carried by each participant.
•      Investigators assessed GWI symptom severity across 6 domains: fatigue, pain, neurological/cognitive/mood, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and dermatologic symptoms that began during or after Gulf War and lasted > 6 months. 

TAKEAWAY:

•      GWI symptom severity demonstrated significant negative correlation with strength of predicted binding affinity of protective antigen peptides to HLA-II molecules (correlation coefficient [r], −0.356; P < .001), independent of age (partial correlation, −0.376; P < .001).
•      Researchers identified 180 of 750 (24%) 15-mer epitopes with strong binding affinities to HLA-II molecules, suggesting good potential for CD4+ lymphocyte engagement.
•      Analysis revealed that DPB1 (15/31, 48%) and DRB1 (13/44, 30%) alleles showed strong binding affinity with Protective Antigen epitopes, while all DQB1 alleles (18/18, 100%) showed no strong binding.
•      The number of strong binding hits per individual ranged from 3 to 168, indicating wide variability in potential antibody production capability across participants.

IN PRACTICE: "The current findings, demonstrating a robust negative association between HLAanthrax vaccine PA binding and GWI symptom severity, strongly support the hypothesized role of reduced antibody production against anthrax vaccine PA in GWI that most probably underlies the findings supporting anthrax antigen persistence in GWI, in the broader context of antigen persistence in other diseases," Lisa M. James and Apostolos P. Georgopoulos write. 

SOURCE: The study was led by Lisa M. James and Apostolos P. Georgopoulos of the Brain Sciences Center at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System. It was published online on January 18 in Vaccines.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.