Persistence of Anti SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Breast Milk from Infected and Vaccinated Women after In Vitro-Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion

Breastfeeding is key for infant development and growth. Breast milk contains different bioactive compounds including antibodies. Recent studies have demonstrated the presence of breast milk SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after maternal infection and vaccination. However, the potential impact on the infant has not been explored yet. As a first step, we aimed at assessing the potential persistence of SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG antibodies from infected and vaccinated women in the gastrointestinal tract of the infants by means of an in vitro-simulated gastrointestinal digestion approach. Breast milk samples from 10 lactating women receiving mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (n = 5 with BNT162b2 mRNA and n = 5 with mRNA-1273) and also, COVID-19 infected (n = 5) were included. A control group with women with no exposure to the virus (n = 10 pre-pandemic) were also studied. The presence of IgA and IgG SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels was determined by ELISA after the gastric and intestinal stages. The impact of digested antibodies on infant gut microbiota was tested by simulating colonic fermentation with two different fecal inoculums: infants from vaccinated and non-vaccinated mothers. Specific gut microbial groups were tested by targeted qPCR. In vitro infant gastrointestinal digestion significantly decreased the levels of both anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG. However, both remained resistant in all the study groups except in that evaluating breast milk samples from infected women, in which IgG was degraded below the cut-off values in the intestinal phase. No effect of the antibodies on microbiota were identified after digestion. In conclusion, antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 are reduced after in vitro-simulated gastrointestinal tract but remain present, so a positive biological effect could be expected from this infant immunization pathway.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Calvo Lerma, Joaquim, Bueno Llamoga, Pierre, Bäuerl, Christine, Cortés Macias, Erika, Selma Royo, Marta, Pérez Cano, Francisco, Lerin, Carles, Martínez-Costa, Cecilia, Collado, María Carmen
Other Authors:	Fundació La Marató de TV3
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2022-05-19
Subjects:	IgA, Anti-SARS-CoV-2, Breast milkx, Breastfeeding, Colonic fermentation, Gut microbiota, In vitro digestion, Lactation,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/274835 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008666
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!