Spike-specific T cells are enriched in breastmilk following SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination

作者：Blair Armistead, Yonghou Jiang, Marc Carlson, Emily S. Ford, Saumya Jani, J. C. Houck, Xia Wu, Lichen Jing, Tiffany Pecor, Alisa Kachikis, Winnie Yeung, Tina Nguyen, Rene Coig, Nana Minkah, Sasha E. Larsen, Rhea N. Coler, David M. Koelle, Whitney E. Harrington · 发表于：Mucosal Immunology · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1016/j.mucimm.2023.01.003 · 被引用次数：30 · 研究领域：SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research、COVID-19 Impact on Reproduction、Immunotherapy and Immune Responses

Human breastmilk is rich in T cells; however, their specificity and function are largely unknown. We compared the phenotype, diversity, and antigen specificity of T cells in breastmilk and peripheral blood of lactating individuals who received SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination. Relative to blood, breastmilk contained higher frequencies of T effector and central memory populations that expressed mucosal-homing markers. T cell receptor sequence overlap was limited between blood and breastmilk. Overabundant breastmilk clones were observed in all individuals, were diverse, and contained complementarity-determining regions in three sequences with known epitope specificity, including to SARS-CoV-2 spike. SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific T cell receptors were more frequent in breastmilk compared to blood and expanded in breastmilk following a 3 rd mRNA vaccine dose. Our observations indicate that the lactating breast contains a distinct T cell population that can be modulated by maternal vaccination with potential implications for passive infant protection.