Milk antibody response after 3rd COVID-19 vaccine and SARS-CoV-2 infection and implications for infant protection

Yarden Golan; Mikias Ilala; Lin Li; Caryl Gay; Soumya Hunagund; Christine Y Lin; Arianna G Cassidy; Unurzul Jigmeddagva; Yusuke Matsui; Nida Ozarslan; Ifeyinwa V Asiodu; Nadav Ahituv; Valerie J Flaherman; Stephanie L Gaw; Mary Prahl

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107767

Milk antibody response after 3^rd COVID-19 vaccine and SARS-CoV-2 infection and implications for infant protection

iScience. 2023 Aug 29;26(10):107767. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107767. eCollection 2023 Oct 20.

Authors

Yarden Golan¹, Mikias Ilala^{2

3}, Lin Li^{4

5}, Caryl Gay⁶, Soumya Hunagund^{4

5}, Christine Y Lin^{4

5}, Arianna G Cassidy^{4

5}, Unurzul Jigmeddagva^{4

5}, Yusuke Matsui^{7

8}, Nida Ozarslan^{4

5}, Ifeyinwa V Asiodu⁶, Nadav Ahituv¹, Valerie J Flaherman², Stephanie L Gaw^{4

5}, Mary Prahl^{2

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, and Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
² Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
³ Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁴ Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁵ Center for Reproductive Sciences, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁷ Gladstone Institute of Virology, Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁸ Michael Hulton Center for HIV Cure Research at Gladstone, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁹ Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Health, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Abstract

Little is known about the persistence of human milk anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after 2^nd and 3^rd vaccine doses and infection following 3^rd dose. In this study, human milk, saliva, and blood samples were collected from 33 lactating individuals before and after vaccination and infection. Antibody levels were measured using ELISA and symptoms were assessed using questionnaires. We found that after vaccination, milk anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies persisted for up to 8 months. In addition, distinct patterns of human milk IgA and IgG production and higher milk RBD-blocking activity was observed after infection compared to 3-dose vaccination. Infected mothers reported more symptoms than vaccinated mothers. We examined the persistence of milk antibodies in infant saliva after breastfeeding and found that IgA was more abundant compared to IgG. Our results emphasize the importance of improving the secretion of IgA antibodies to human milk after vaccination to improve the protection of breastfeeding infants.

Keywords: Health sciences; Immunology; Pediatrics; Virology.

Abstract

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