TY - JOUR
T1 - Shigella-specific antibodies in the first year of life among Zambian infants
T2 - A longitudinal cohort study
AU - Chisenga, Caroline C.
AU - Bosomprah, Samuel
AU - Simuyandi, Michelo
AU - Mwila-Kazimbaya, Katayi
AU - Chilyabanyama, Obvious N.
AU - Laban, Natasha M.
AU - Bialik, Anya
AU - Asato, Valeria
AU - Meron-Sudai, Shiri
AU - Frankel, Gad
AU - Cohen, Daniel
AU - Chilengi, Roma
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Chisenga et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Introduction Shigellosis, is a leading cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhoea and related mortality in young children in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Knowledge on naturally acquired immunity can support the development of Shigella candidate vaccines mostly needed in LMICs. We aimed to quantify Shigella-specific antibodies of maternal origin and those naturally acquired in Zambian infants. Methods Plasma samples collected from infants at age 6, 14 and 52-weeks were tested for Shigella (S. sonnei and S. flexneri 2a) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigen specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and A (IgA) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results At 6 weeks infant age, the IgG geometric mean titres (GMT) against S. sonnei (N = 159) and S. flexneri 2a (N = 135) LPS were 311 (95% CI 259–372) and 446 (95% CI 343–580) respectively. By 14 weeks, a decline in IgG GMT was observed for both S. sonnei to 104 (95% CI 88–124), and S. flexneri 2a to 183 (95% CI 147–230). Both S. sonnei and S. flexneri 2a specific IgG GMT continued to decrease by 52 weeks infant age when compared to 6 weeks. In 27% and 8% of infants a significant rise in titre (4 fold and greater) against S. flexneri 2a and S. sonnei LPS, respectively, was detected between the ages of 14 and 52 weeks. IgA levels against both species LPS were very low at 6 and 14 weeks and raised significantly against S. flexneri 2a and S. sonnei LPS in 29% and 10% of the infants, respectively. Conclusion In our setting, transplacental IgG anti-Shigella LPS is present at high levels in early infancy, and begins to decrease by age 14 weeks. Our results are consistent with early exposure to Shigella and indicate naturally acquired IgG and IgA antibodies to S. flexneri 2a and S. sonnei LPS in part of infants between 14 and 52 weeks of age. These results suggest that a potential timing of vaccination would be after 14 and before 52 weeks of age to ensure early infant protection against shigellosis.
AB - Introduction Shigellosis, is a leading cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhoea and related mortality in young children in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Knowledge on naturally acquired immunity can support the development of Shigella candidate vaccines mostly needed in LMICs. We aimed to quantify Shigella-specific antibodies of maternal origin and those naturally acquired in Zambian infants. Methods Plasma samples collected from infants at age 6, 14 and 52-weeks were tested for Shigella (S. sonnei and S. flexneri 2a) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigen specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and A (IgA) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results At 6 weeks infant age, the IgG geometric mean titres (GMT) against S. sonnei (N = 159) and S. flexneri 2a (N = 135) LPS were 311 (95% CI 259–372) and 446 (95% CI 343–580) respectively. By 14 weeks, a decline in IgG GMT was observed for both S. sonnei to 104 (95% CI 88–124), and S. flexneri 2a to 183 (95% CI 147–230). Both S. sonnei and S. flexneri 2a specific IgG GMT continued to decrease by 52 weeks infant age when compared to 6 weeks. In 27% and 8% of infants a significant rise in titre (4 fold and greater) against S. flexneri 2a and S. sonnei LPS, respectively, was detected between the ages of 14 and 52 weeks. IgA levels against both species LPS were very low at 6 and 14 weeks and raised significantly against S. flexneri 2a and S. sonnei LPS in 29% and 10% of the infants, respectively. Conclusion In our setting, transplacental IgG anti-Shigella LPS is present at high levels in early infancy, and begins to decrease by age 14 weeks. Our results are consistent with early exposure to Shigella and indicate naturally acquired IgG and IgA antibodies to S. flexneri 2a and S. sonnei LPS in part of infants between 14 and 52 weeks of age. These results suggest that a potential timing of vaccination would be after 14 and before 52 weeks of age to ensure early infant protection against shigellosis.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106903964&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0252222
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0252222
M3 - Article
C2 - 34043697
AN - SCOPUS:85106903964
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 16
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 5 May
M1 - e0252222
ER -