TY - JOUR
T1 - Anti-Spike Antibodies Present in the Milk of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccinated Mothers Are Complement-Activating
AU - Agostinis, Chiara
AU - Toffoli, Miriam
AU - Balduit, Andrea
AU - Mangogna, Alessandro
AU - Yasmin, Hadida
AU - Ragazzon, Chiara
AU - Pegoraro, Silvia
AU - Campisciano, Giuseppina
AU - Stabile, Guglielmo
AU - Zito, Gabriella
AU - Kishore, Uday
AU - Comar, Manola
AU - Scrimin, Federica
AU - Bulla, Roberta
AU - Ricci, Giuseppe
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/3
Y1 - 2023/3
N2 - Although only 0.8–1% of SARS-CoV-2 infections are in the 0–9 age-group, pneumonia is still the leading cause of infant mortality globally. Antibodies specifically directed against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S) are produced during severe COVID-19 manifestations. Following vaccination, specific antibodies are also detected in the milk of breastfeeding mothers. Since antibody binding to viral antigens can trigger activation of the complement classical - pathway, we investigated antibody-dependent complement activation by anti-S immunoglobulins (Igs) present in breast milk following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. This was in view of the fact that complement could play a fundamentally protective role against SARS-CoV-2 infection in newborns. Thus, 22 vaccinated, lactating healthcare and school workers were enrolled, and a sample of serum and milk was collected from each woman. We first tested for the presence of anti-S IgG and IgA in serum and milk of breastfeeding women by ELISA. We then measured the concentration of the first subcomponents of the three complement pathways (i.e., C1q, MBL, and C3) and the ability of anti-S Igs detected in milk to activate the complement in vitro. The current study demonstrated that vaccinated mothers have anti-S IgG in serum as well as in breast milk, which is capable of activating complement and may confer a protective benefit to breastfed newborns.
AB - Although only 0.8–1% of SARS-CoV-2 infections are in the 0–9 age-group, pneumonia is still the leading cause of infant mortality globally. Antibodies specifically directed against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S) are produced during severe COVID-19 manifestations. Following vaccination, specific antibodies are also detected in the milk of breastfeeding mothers. Since antibody binding to viral antigens can trigger activation of the complement classical - pathway, we investigated antibody-dependent complement activation by anti-S immunoglobulins (Igs) present in breast milk following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. This was in view of the fact that complement could play a fundamentally protective role against SARS-CoV-2 infection in newborns. Thus, 22 vaccinated, lactating healthcare and school workers were enrolled, and a sample of serum and milk was collected from each woman. We first tested for the presence of anti-S IgG and IgA in serum and milk of breastfeeding women by ELISA. We then measured the concentration of the first subcomponents of the three complement pathways (i.e., C1q, MBL, and C3) and the ability of anti-S Igs detected in milk to activate the complement in vitro. The current study demonstrated that vaccinated mothers have anti-S IgG in serum as well as in breast milk, which is capable of activating complement and may confer a protective benefit to breastfed newborns.
KW - antibodies
KW - breast milk
KW - classical pathway
KW - complement system
KW - COVID-19 vaccines
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U2 - 10.3390/ijms24054395
DO - 10.3390/ijms24054395
M3 - Article
C2 - 36901824
AN - SCOPUS:85149889637
SN - 1661-6596
VL - 24
JO - International journal of molecular sciences
JF - International journal of molecular sciences
IS - 5
M1 - 4395
ER -