Adaptive immune responses to vaccination reflect social status at first exposure in rhesus macaques

Social gradients are consistently associated with variation in health outcomes, including infectious disease. However, distinguishing between social gradients in antigen exposure versus susceptibility remains challenging. Here, we use a nonhuman primate model for chronic social stress to investigate how social status influences the influenza vaccine-induced adaptive immune response. We manipulated the social status of female rhesus macaques to test the response to influenza antigens in naïve individuals and after secondary exposure. Higher social status at the time of first exposure, but not at the time of secondary exposure, predicted stronger antibody responses to both exposures. Social status also drove gene expression differences for adaptive immune pathways, and genes that predict the magnitude of the antibody response overlap with those linked to social status. Thus, social gradients shape the adaptive immune response in a temporally dependent manner, with particular sensitivity at the time of initial antigen exposure. Overall design: RNA-seq profiling of PBMCsfrom rhesus macaques before (day 0) and 1, 3 or 7 days following influenza vaccination