Covid-19 Induced Neonatal Immunity

Abstract

December 2019 a few cases of severe pneumonia was detected in Wuhan, China The patients were exhibiting symptoms like fever, dry cough, sore throat, breathlessness, and fatigue. investigation employing next generation sequencing and phylogenetic analysis led to the identification of the causative agent of this respiratory disease, a novel coronavirus 2019  [1]. As more cases started to appear around the world, on February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization assigned a name, Corona Virus Disease 2019 or COVID-19, to the disease and declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020.  The virus was renamed from 2019-nCoV to SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses on the basis of its genetic similarity to a previously known coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus(SARS-CoV) [2].

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS-CoV- 2, has resulted in more than six million deaths and has infected over 500 million people as of July 19, 2022 [3]. SARS-CoV-2 infected pregnant women are at increased risk of severe COVID- 19 than non-pregnant women and have a higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes like intrauterine/fetal distress and preterm birth.

The most severe outcomes of COVID-19 have been documented in geriatric individuals and pregnant women with chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, and cardiopulmonary problems [4]. Newborn protection from infection is primarily dependent on neonatal innate immune responses
and maternally derived, transplacentally acquired antibodies. The extent to which maternal antibodies produced in response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during pregnancy cross the placenta is important for understanding potential neonatal protection from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19.

We investigated humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 inmaternalandcordbloodpairedsamples in the case of natural infection during late second and third trimesters of pregnancy recruited at TSMU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology TSMU First University Clinic. Georgia, Tbilisi.  Maternal nasopharyngeal swabs   were collected for SARS-CoV-2 detection by rate-PCR for confirmation of viral infection at the admission to the hospital. We measured IgG to spike (S) receptor-binding domain and nucleocapsid (N) Sixty-eight pregnant women SARS-CoV-2 positive by rRT- PCR were included in our study. Serology samples of maternal and cord blood has been collected immediately after delivery. For study design we have determined inclusion and exclusion criteria’s. General medical data of patients included in the study have been collected from medical records and Informed written consent was obtained from all the patients involved in the study. SARS-CoV-2, IgG has been detected by ELISA method.

infected mothers had increased levels of virus-specific antibodies maternal IgG levels showed positive correlations with their counterparts in cord blood. PCR positive mothers showed stronger effect when infection was closer to delivery.

Our results show that SARS- CoV-2 infection during the second and third trimester of pregnancy induces antibody response at delivery and causes lower level of the SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG trans placental transfer, when the infection is closer to delivery.