1
|
Dowell AC, Butler MS, Jinks E, Tut G, Lancaster T, Sylla P, Begum J, Bruton R, Pearce H, Verma K, Logan N, Tyson G, Spalkova E, Margielewska-Davies S, Taylor GS, Syrimi E, Baawuah F, Beckmann J, Okike IO, Ahmad S, Garstang J, Brent AJ, Brent B, Ireland G, Aiano F, Amin-Chowdhury Z, Jones S, Borrow R, Linley E, Wright J, Azad R, Waiblinger D, Davis C, Thomson EC, Palmarini M, Willett BJ, Barclay WS, Poh J, Amirthalingam G, Brown KE, Ramsay ME, Zuo J, Moss P, Ladhani S. Children develop robust and sustained cross-reactive spike-specific immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nat Immunol 2022; 23:40-49. [PMID: 34937928 PMCID: PMC8709786 DOI: 10.1038/s41590-021-01089-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 57.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 infection is generally mild or asymptomatic in children but a biological basis for this outcome is unclear. Here we compare antibody and cellular immunity in children (aged 3-11 years) and adults. Antibody responses against spike protein were high in children and seroconversion boosted responses against seasonal Beta-coronaviruses through cross-recognition of the S2 domain. Neutralization of viral variants was comparable between children and adults. Spike-specific T cell responses were more than twice as high in children and were also detected in many seronegative children, indicating pre-existing cross-reactive responses to seasonal coronaviruses. Importantly, children retained antibody and cellular responses 6 months after infection, whereas relative waning occurred in adults. Spike-specific responses were also broadly stable beyond 12 months. Therefore, children generate robust, cross-reactive and sustained immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 with focused specificity for the spike protein. These findings provide insight into the relative clinical protection that occurs in most children and might help to guide the design of pediatric vaccination regimens.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander C Dowell
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Megan S Butler
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Elizabeth Jinks
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Gokhan Tut
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Tara Lancaster
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Panagiota Sylla
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Jusnara Begum
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Rachel Bruton
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Hayden Pearce
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Kriti Verma
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Nicola Logan
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
| | - Grace Tyson
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
| | - Eliska Spalkova
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Sandra Margielewska-Davies
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Graham S Taylor
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Eleni Syrimi
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | | | | | - Ifeanyichukwu O Okike
- Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London, UK
- University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, Derby, UK
| | - Shazaad Ahmad
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Joanna Garstang
- Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Aston, UK
- Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Andrew J Brent
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
- University of Oxford, Wellington Square, Oxford, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Samuel Jones
- Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London, UK
| | - Ray Borrow
- Public Health England, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK
| | - Ezra Linley
- Public Health England, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK
| | - John Wright
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK
| | - Rafaq Azad
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK
| | - Dagmar Waiblinger
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK
| | - Chris Davis
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
| | - Emma C Thomson
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Brian J Willett
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, UK
| | - Wendy S Barclay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - John Poh
- Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London, UK
| | | | - Kevin E Brown
- Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London, UK
| | - Mary E Ramsay
- Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London, UK
| | - Jianmin Zuo
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Paul Moss
- Institute of Immunology & Immunotherapy, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Shamez Ladhani
- Public Health England, 61 Colindale Avenue, London, UK
- Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group, St. George's University of London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|