tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
. 2022 Aug 11;22(1):635.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04945-z.
Antibodies in the breastmilk of COVID-19 recovered women
Paulina Szczygioł[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Błażej Łukianowski[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Katarzyna Kościelska-Kasprzak[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Katarzyna Jakuszko[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Dorota Bartoszek[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Magdalena Krajewska[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Barbara Królak-Olejnik[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Objective: Human milk contains antibodies against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which may serve as a protective factor through passive immunization in infants. The objective of this study was to measure the levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA in human milk and serum after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Design: Breast milk and serum samples from 72 lactating mothers with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic or symptomatic infection were collected 1-229 days after the onset of clinical symptoms related to COVID-19. Seventeen mothers with no history of COVID-19 served as a control group. Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay was performed to analyze antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
Results: SARS-CoV-2-IgA human milk antibodies were detected in mothers and their concentrations were consistently higher than SARS-CoV-2-IgG antibodies. The serum and breastmilk samples of women with COVID-19 was characterized by a higher concentration of anti-RBD IgA and IgG than the serum from the control group without COVID-19. No statistically significant difference was observed between the antibody levels in the serum samples obtained from symptomatic and asymptomatic women exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and between the antibody level and the time from a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result over the period studied.
Conclusion: Our results confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG antibodies in the breastmilk of COVID-19 recovered women and the possibility of these antibodies in providing specific immunologic benefits to breastfeeding infants such as protection against the virus transmission and severity of the acquired COVID-19 disease.
Keywords: Breastfeeding; Human milk; Immunoglobulins, passive immunity; SARS-CoV-2.
. 2022 Aug 11;22(1):635.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04945-z.
Antibodies in the breastmilk of COVID-19 recovered women
Paulina Szczygioł[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Błażej Łukianowski[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Katarzyna Kościelska-Kasprzak[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Katarzyna Jakuszko[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Dorota Bartoszek[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Magdalena Krajewska[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Barbara Królak-Olejnik[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35953773
- DOI: 10.1186/s12884-022-04945-z
Abstract
Objective: Human milk contains antibodies against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which may serve as a protective factor through passive immunization in infants. The objective of this study was to measure the levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA in human milk and serum after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Design: Breast milk and serum samples from 72 lactating mothers with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic or symptomatic infection were collected 1-229 days after the onset of clinical symptoms related to COVID-19. Seventeen mothers with no history of COVID-19 served as a control group. Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay was performed to analyze antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
Results: SARS-CoV-2-IgA human milk antibodies were detected in mothers and their concentrations were consistently higher than SARS-CoV-2-IgG antibodies. The serum and breastmilk samples of women with COVID-19 was characterized by a higher concentration of anti-RBD IgA and IgG than the serum from the control group without COVID-19. No statistically significant difference was observed between the antibody levels in the serum samples obtained from symptomatic and asymptomatic women exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and between the antibody level and the time from a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result over the period studied.
Conclusion: Our results confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG antibodies in the breastmilk of COVID-19 recovered women and the possibility of these antibodies in providing specific immunologic benefits to breastfeeding infants such as protection against the virus transmission and severity of the acquired COVID-19 disease.
Keywords: Breastfeeding; Human milk; Immunoglobulins, passive immunity; SARS-CoV-2.