Salivary immunity of elite collegiate American football players infected with SARS-CoV-2 normalizes following isolation

Joshua Granger; Eunhan Cho; Kevin Lindsey; Nathan Lemoine; Derek Calvert; Jack Marucci; Shelly Mullenix; Hollis O'Neal; Brian A Irving; Neil Johannsen; Guillaume Spielmann

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-12934-7

Salivary immunity of elite collegiate American football players infected with SARS-CoV-2 normalizes following isolation

Sci Rep. 2022 May 31;12(1):9090. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-12934-7.

Authors

Joshua Granger¹, Eunhan Cho¹, Kevin Lindsey¹, Nathan Lemoine², Derek Calvert², Jack Marucci², Shelly Mullenix², Hollis O'Neal^{3

4}, Brian A Irving^{1

5}, Neil Johannsen^{1

5}, Guillaume Spielmann^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, 91 Huey P. Long Fieldhouse, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
² LSU Athletics, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
³ Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
⁴ Our Lady of the Lake, Baton Rouge, LA, 70810, USA.
⁵ Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70808, USA.
⁶ School of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, 91 Huey P. Long Fieldhouse, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA. gspielmann@lsu.edu.
⁷ Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, 70808, USA. gspielmann@lsu.edu.

Abstract

The impact of COVID-19 on systemic immunity in the general population has been well characterized, however the short-term effects of COVID-19 infection on innate salivary immunity in elite-level athletes are unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether elite college football athletes had altered salivary immunity following the CDC-recommended isolation post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. Salivary samples were obtained from fourteen elite football players who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (n = 14), immediately after CDC-recommended isolation (average days = 14 ± 2 days) and fifteen controls who remained uninfected with SARS-CoV-2. Biomarkers of innate salivary immunity (sIgA and alpha-amylase), antimicrobial proteins (AMPs, i.e., HNP1-3, lactoferrin, LL-37) and lung inflammation (SPA, SPLI, and Neutrophil Elastase-alpha-1-antitrypsin complex) were measured. Independent student t-tests were used to determine changes in biomarkers between groups. Although all AMP levels were within normal range, Human Neutrophil Defensin 1-3 concentrations and secretion rates were higher in SARS-CoV-2+ compared to SARS-CoV-2-. This suggests that the CDC-recommended isolation period is sufficient to ensure that athletes' salivary immunity is not compromised upon return to sports, and athletes post-COVID-19 infection do not appear to be at greater risk for secondary infection than those with no history of COVID-19.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Football*
Humans
Immunity, Innate
SARS-CoV-2
Universities