Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in colostrum from women who tested positive for the virus.Methods: Between March and September 2020 we obtained bilateral colostrum samples collected on spot cards within 48 hours of delivery from 15 new mothers who had previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Four of 15 women provided liquid colostrum, which was used for validating results obtained from spot cards. Archived bilateral colostrum samples collected from 8 women during 2011–2013 were used as pre-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) controls. All samples were tested for reactivity to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that measures SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific IgA, IgG, and IgM and for levels of 10 inflammatory cytokines (interferon-gamma [IFN-γ], tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13) using a multiplex electrochemiluminescent sandwich assay.Results: Our validation studies indicate that the levels of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and the associated cytokines measured in liquid colostrum are comparable to levels eluted from spot cards. Bilateral colostrum samples from 73%, 73%, and 33% of the 15 COVID-19 mothers exhibited IgA, IgG, and IgM reactivity to RBD, respectively. In addition, symptomatic COVID-19 mothers had statistically significant elevated levels of 4 of the 10 inflammatory markers (IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-6, and IL-12) compared to asymptomatic COVID-19 mothers.Conclusions: A strong humoral immune response is present in the colostrum of women who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 before delivering. The evolution and duration of the antibody response, as well as dynamics of the cytokine response, remain to be determined. Our results also indicate that future large-scale studies can be conducted with milk easily collected on paper spot cards.
Highlights
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend breastfeeding for mothers infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as the benefits of mother’s milk are thought to outweigh potential risks of transmitting the virus to the infant.[1,2] A recent systematic review reporting on 77 nursing mothers from 37 studies concluded that there was no convincing evidence of transmission of live SARS-CoV-2 through breast milk.[3]
Demographic characteristics of the 23 women are summarized in Table 1, stratified by the period of colostrum donation: ‘‘2020’’ (COVID-19) versus ‘‘2011–2013’’ (Pre-COVID-19 controls)
Our results provide a snapshot of the immune response in colostrum following SARS-CoV-2 infection, paralleling recent findings on the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in milk from infected women,[4,5,6,8] and describing for the first time the associated cytokine profile
Summary
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend breastfeeding for mothers infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as the benefits of mother’s milk are thought to outweigh potential risks of transmitting the virus to the infant.[1,2] A recent systematic review reporting on 77 nursing mothers from 37 studies concluded that there was no convincing evidence of transmission of live SARS-CoV-2 through breast milk.[3] As of May 28th, 2021, the WHO reported over 168 million people infected by SARS-CoV-2 globally and over 3.5 million deaths. As the number of pregnant and lactating SARS-CoV-2infected women increases, there is a need to build on existing, yet limited, research on SARS-CoV-2-specific immune response in breast milk from infected women. Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and the associated cytokines in breast milk are relevant to the health of nursed babies and mothers.[1,2,4,5] Previous studies have shown the presence of SARS-CoV-2-
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
