Young infants exhibit robust functional antibody responses and restrained IFN-γ production to SARS-CoV-2

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 illne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell reports. Medicine 2021-07, Vol.2 (7), p.100327-100327, Article 100327
Main Authors: Goenka, Anu, Halliday, Alice, Gregorova, Michaela, Milodowski, Emily, Thomas, Amy, Williamson, Maia Kavanagh, Baum, Holly, Oliver, Elizabeth, Long, Anna E., Knezevic, Lea, Williams, Alistair J.K., Lampasona, Vito, Piemonti, Lorenzo, Gupta, Kapil, Di Bartolo, Natalie, Berger, Imre, Toye, Ashley M., Vipond, Barry, Muir, Peter, Bernatoniene, Jolanta, Bailey, Mick, Gillespie, Kathleen M., Davidson, Andrew D., Wooldridge, Linda, Rivino, Laura, Finn, Adam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
antibody
Antibody Formation
COVID-19
COVID-19 - immunology
Female
Humans
immunity
Immunoglobulin A
Immunoglobulin G
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Interferon-gamma - immunology
Interferon-gamma - metabolism
Leukocytes, Mononuclear - metabolism
Male
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - immunology
T cell
Young Adult
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Summary: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. [Display omitted] Distinct SARS-CoV-2 immune response of young infants compared with their parentsHigh anti-spike IgG levels in sera and saliva of young infantsRobust SARS-CoV-2 neutralization by sera of young infantsRestrained spike-specific IFN-γ production by PBMCs of young infants Goenka et al. demonstrate that the SARS-CoV-2 immune response of young infants appears distinct compared with their parents. They show that infants exhibit relatively high serum (and saliva) levels of anti-spike IgG associated with robust SARS-CoV-2 neutralization but restrained cellular spike-specific IFN-γ production.
ISSN:2666-3791
2666-3791
DOI:10.1016/j.xcrm.2021.100327