Severe COVID-19 appears rare in children. This is unexpected, especially in young infants, who are vulnerable to severe disease caused by other respiratory viruses. We evaluate convalescent immune responses in 4 infants under 3 months old with confirmed COVID-19 who presented with mild febrile illness, alongside their parents, and adult controls recovered from confirmed COVID-19. Although not statistically significant, compared to seropositive adults, infants have high serum levels of IgG and IgA to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, with a corresponding functional ability to block SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry. Infants also exhibit robust saliva anti-spike IgG and IgA responses. Spike-specific IFN-γ production by infant peripheral blood mononuclear cells appears restrained, but the frequency of spike-specific IFN-γ- and/or TNF-α-producing T cells is comparable between infants and adults. On principal-component analysis, infant immune responses appear distinct from their parents. Robust functional antibody responses alongside restrained IFN-γ production may help protect infants from severe COVID-19.
Young infants exhibit robust functional antibody responses and restrained IFN-γ production to SARS-CoV-2 / Goenka, A., Halliday, A., Gregorova, M., Milodowski, E., Thomas, A., Williamson, M.K., Baum, H., Oliver, E., Long, A.E., Knezevic, L., Williams, A.J.K., Lampasona, V., Piemonti, L., Gupta, K., Di Bartolo, N., Berger, I., Toye, A.M., Vipond, B., Muir, P., Bernatoniene, J., et al.. - In: CELL REPORTS MEDICINE. - ISSN 2666-3791. - (2021), p. 100327. [Epub ahead of print] [10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100327]
Young infants exhibit robust functional antibody responses and restrained IFN-γ production to SARS-CoV-2
Piemonti L.;
2021-01-01
Abstract
Severe COVID-19 appears rare in children. This is unexpected, especially in young infants, who are vulnerable to severe disease caused by other respiratory viruses. We evaluate convalescent immune responses in 4 infants under 3 months old with confirmed COVID-19 who presented with mild febrile illness, alongside their parents, and adult controls recovered from confirmed COVID-19. Although not statistically significant, compared to seropositive adults, infants have high serum levels of IgG and IgA to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, with a corresponding functional ability to block SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry. Infants also exhibit robust saliva anti-spike IgG and IgA responses. Spike-specific IFN-γ production by infant peripheral blood mononuclear cells appears restrained, but the frequency of spike-specific IFN-γ- and/or TNF-α-producing T cells is comparable between infants and adults. On principal-component analysis, infant immune responses appear distinct from their parents. Robust functional antibody responses alongside restrained IFN-γ production may help protect infants from severe COVID-19.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
