Neutralizing and Epitope-Specific Antibodies against Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Maternal and Cord Blood Paired Samples

Fumi Mashiyama; Koichi Hashimoto; Sakurako Norito; Hisao Okabe; Akiko Sato; Yohei Kume; Ryo Maeda; Maki Sato; Masatoki Sato; Hyo Kyozuka; Keiya Fujimori; Hidekazu Nishigori; Kosei Shinoki; Seiji Yasumura; Hiroko Sakuma; Mitsuaki Hosoya

doi:10.3390/v14122702

Neutralizing and Epitope-Specific Antibodies against Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Maternal and Cord Blood Paired Samples

Viruses. 2022 Dec 2;14(12):2702. doi: 10.3390/v14122702.

Authors

Fumi Mashiyama^{1

2}, Koichi Hashimoto^{1

3}, Sakurako Norito¹, Hisao Okabe¹, Akiko Sato³, Yohei Kume¹, Ryo Maeda¹, Maki Sato¹, Masatoki Sato¹, Hyo Kyozuka⁴, Keiya Fujimori^{3

4}, Hidekazu Nishigori^{3

5}, Kosei Shinoki³, Seiji Yasumura^{3

6}, Hiroko Sakuma², Mitsuaki Hosoya^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
² Pediatrics, Hoshi General Hospital, Koriyama 960-1295, Japan.
³ Fukushima Regional Center for the Japan Environmental and Children's Study, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
⁵ Fukushima Medical Center for Children and Women, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
⁶ Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.

Abstract

Only a few qualitative studies of neutralizing antibody titers (NATs) against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have focused on epitope-specific antibody (ESA) levels. Here, NATs against RSV in sera were measured using the blood of 412 mothers and cord blood (CB) of 95 of the 412 mother-child pairs. ESA levels against sites zero (Ø) and IIa of the F protein of RSV were measured in 87 of the 95 mother-child pairs. The median gestational age was 39 weeks. The NATs and ESA levels in CB were slightly higher than those in maternal blood (MB). The NATs for RSV subtype A (RSV-A) in MB and CB showed a positive correlation (r = 0.75). The ESA levels against sites Ø and IIa in MB and CB showed positive correlations, r = 0.76 and r = 0.69, respectively. In MB, the NATs and ESA levels against RSV were positively correlated, more significantly against site Ø (RSV-A: r = 0.70, RSV-B: r = 0.48) than against site IIa (RSV-A: r = 0.19, RSV-B: r = 0.31). Sufficient amounts of ESAs against sites Ø and IIa of RSV were transferred from mothers to term infants. ESA levels against site Ø contribute to NATs.

Keywords: cord blood; epitope-specific antibody; neutralizing antibody; respiratory syncytial virus; site zero; trans-placental antibody.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Neutralizing
Antibodies, Viral
Epitopes
Fetal Blood
Humans
Infant
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections*
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines*
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human*

Substances

Epitopes
Antibodies, Viral
Antibodies, Neutralizing
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines

Grants and funding

This research was funded by JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), grant number JP18K07794 and JP21K07868. The Japan Environment and Children’s Study was funded by the Ministry of Environment, Japan.