Placental transfer dynamics and durability of maternal COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibodies in infants

Paola A Lopez; Nadège Nziza; Tina Chen; Lydia L Shook; Madeleine D Burns; Stepan Demidkin; Olyvia Jasset; Babatunde Akinwunmi; Lael M Yonker; Kathryn J Gray; Michal A Elovitz; Douglas A Lauffenburger; Boris D Julg; Andrea G Edlow

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.109273

Placental transfer dynamics and durability of maternal COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibodies in infants

iScience. 2024 Feb 20;27(3):109273. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109273. eCollection 2024 Mar 15.

Authors

Paola A Lopez¹, Nadège Nziza², Tina Chen², Lydia L Shook^{3

4

5}, Madeleine D Burns⁶, Stepan Demidkin⁴, Olyvia Jasset⁴, Babatunde Akinwunmi⁷, Lael M Yonker^{5

6}, Kathryn J Gray^{5

7}, Michal A Elovitz⁸, Douglas A Lauffenburger¹, Boris D Julg^{2

5}, Andrea G Edlow^{3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
² Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
³ Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
⁴ Massachusetts General Hospital, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
⁵ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁶ Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Department of Pediatric, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
⁷ Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁸ Women's Biomedical Research Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.

Abstract

Completion of a COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy effectively reduces COVID-19 hospitalization among infants less than 6 months of age. The dynamics of transplacental transfer of maternal vaccine-induced antibodies, and their persistence in infants at 2, 6, 9, and 12 months, have implications for new vaccine development and optimal timing of vaccine administration in pregnancy. We evaluated anti-COVID antibody IgG subclass, Fc-receptor binding profile, and activity against wild-type Spike and RBD plus five variants of concern (VOCs) in 153 serum samples from 100 infants. Maternal IgG1 and IgG3 responses persisted in 2- and 6-month infants to a greater extent than the other IgG subclasses, with high persistence of antibodies binding placental neonatal Fc-receptor and FcγR3A. Lowest persistence was observed against the Omicron RBD-specific region. Maternal vaccine timing, placental Fc-receptor binding capabilities, antibody subclass, fetal sex, and VOC all impact the persistence of antibodies in infants through 12 months of age.

Keywords: Classification Description; Health sciences; Immunology; Microbiology; Pediatrics.

Abstract

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