Spike-specific T cells are enriched in breastmilk following SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination

Blair Armistead; Yonghou Jiang; Marc Carlson; Emily S Ford; Saumya Jani; John Houck; Xia Wu; Lichen Jing; Tiffany Pecor; Alisa Kachikis; Winnie Yeung; Tina Nguyen; Rene Coig; Nana Minkah; Sasha E Larsen; Rhea N Coler; David M Koelle; Whitney E Harrington

doi:10.1016/j.mucimm.2023.01.003

Spike-specific T cells are enriched in breastmilk following SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination

Mucosal Immunol. 2023 Feb;16(1):39-49. doi: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2023.01.003. Epub 2023 Jan 13.

Authors

Blair Armistead¹, Yonghou Jiang¹, Marc Carlson², Emily S Ford³, Saumya Jani⁴, John Houck¹, Xia Wu⁵, Lichen Jing⁵, Tiffany Pecor¹, Alisa Kachikis⁶, Winnie Yeung¹, Tina Nguyen¹, Rene Coig⁷, Nana Minkah⁸, Sasha E Larsen¹, Rhea N Coler⁹, David M Koelle¹⁰, Whitney E Harrington¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
² Research Scientific Computing, Enterprise Analytics, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
³ Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁴ Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁵ Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁶ Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁷ Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁸ Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁹ Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
¹⁰ Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
¹¹ Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Electronic address: whitney.harrington@seattlechildrens.org.

Abstract

Human breastmilk is rich in T cells; however, their specificity and function are largely unknown. We compared the phenotype, diversity, and antigen specificity of T cells in breastmilk and peripheral blood of lactating individuals who received SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination. Relative to blood, breastmilk contained higher frequencies of T effector and central memory populations that expressed mucosal-homing markers. T cell receptor sequence overlap was limited between blood and breastmilk. Overabundant breastmilk clones were observed in all individuals, were diverse, and contained complementarity-determining regions in three sequences with known epitope specificity, including to SARS-CoV-2 spike. SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific T cell receptors were more frequent in breastmilk compared to blood and expanded in breastmilk following a 3^rd mRNA vaccine dose. Our observations indicate that the lactating breast contains a distinct T cell population that can be modulated by maternal vaccination with potential implications for passive infant protection.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Viral
COVID-19*
Female
Humans
Infant
Lactation
Milk, Human*
RNA, Messenger
SARS-CoV-2
T-Lymphocytes
Vaccination

Substances

RNA, Messenger
Antibodies, Viral

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding