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Lutckii A, Strunz B, Zhirkov A, Filipovich O, Rukoiatkina E, Gusev D, Lobzin Y, Fischler B, Aleman S, Sällberg M, Björkström NK. Evidence for B cell maturation but not trained immunity in uninfected infants exposed to hepatitis C virus. Gut 2020; 69:2203-2213. [PMID: 32341018 DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-320269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is rare compared with other chronic viral infections, despite that newborns have an immature, and possibly more susceptible, immune system. It further remains unclear to what extent prenatal and perinatal exposure to HCV affects immune system development in neonates. DESIGN To address this, we studied B cells, innate immune cells and soluble factors in a cohort of 62 children that were either unexposed, exposed uninfected or infected with HCV. Forty of these infants were followed longitudinally from birth up until 18 months of age. RESULTS As expected, evidence for B cell maturation was observed with increased age in children, whereas few age-related changes were noticed among innate immune cells. HCV-infected children had a high frequency of HCV-specific IgG-secreting B cells. Such a response was also detected in some exposed but uninfected children but not in uninfected controls. Consistent with this, both HCV-exposed uninfected and HCV-infected infants had evidence of early B cell immune maturation with an increased proportion of IgA-positive plasma cells and upregulated CD40 expression. In contrast, actual HCV viraemia, but not mere exposure, led to alterations within myeloid immune cell populations, natural killer (NK) cells and a distinct soluble factor profile with increased levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. CONCLUSION Our data reveal that exposure to, and infection with, HCV causes disparate effects on adaptive B cells and innate immune cell such as myeloid cells and NK cells in infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Lutckii
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Pediatric Research and Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Benedikt Strunz
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anton Zhirkov
- Pediatric Research and Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Olga Filipovich
- North-Western State Medical University named after I.I.Mechnikov, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Elena Rukoiatkina
- Maternity Hospital No 16, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.,Department of Pediatrics, Gynecology and Female Reproductology, Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Denis Gusev
- Center for Prevention and Control of AIDS and Infectious Diseases, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Yuriy Lobzin
- Pediatric Research and Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Björn Fischler
- Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology (CLINTEC), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Pediatrics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Soo Aleman
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Matti Sällberg
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niklas K Björkström
- Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
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