TY - JOUR
AU - Dowell, Alexander C.
AU - Butler, Megan S.
AU - Jinks, Elizabeth
AU - Tut, Gokhan
AU - Lancaster, Tara
AU - Sylla, Panagiota
AU - Begum, Jusnara
AU - Bruton, Rachel
AU - Pearce, Hayden
AU - Verma, Kriti
AU - Logan, Nicola
AU - Tyson, Grace
AU - Spalkova, Eliska
AU - Margielewska-Davies, Sandra
AU - Taylor, Graham S.
AU - Syrimi, Eleni
AU - Baawuah, Frances
AU - Beckmann, Joanne
AU - Okike, Ifeanyichukwu O.
AU - Ahmad, Shazaad
AU - Garstang, Joanna
AU - Brent, Andrew J.
AU - Brent, Bernadette
AU - Ireland, Georgina
AU - Aiano, Felicity
AU - Amin-Chowdhury, Zahin
AU - Jones, Samuel
AU - Borrow, Ray
AU - Linley, Ezra
AU - Wright, John
AU - Azad, Rafaq
AU - Waiblinger, Dagmar
AU - Davis, Chris
AU - Thomson, Emma C.
AU - Palmarini, Massimo
AU - Willett, Brian J.
AU - Barclay, Wendy S.
AU - Poh, John
AU - Amirthalingam, Gayatri
AU - Brown, Kevin E.
AU - Ramsay, Mary E.
AU - Zuo, Jianmin
AU - Moss, Paul
AU - Ladhani, Shamez N.
PY - 2022
DA - January
TI - Children develop robust and sustained cross-reactive spike-specific immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection
JO - Nature Immunology
EP - 49
VL - 23
IS - 1
DO - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41590-021-01089-8
AB - 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.
PB - Springer Nature
UR - http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/261595/
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Children, young people and families
ER