The immunologic status of newborns born to SARS-CoV-2–infected mothers in Wuhan, China

ABSTRACT

Background: Immunologic dysfunction due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is closely related to clinical prognosis, and the inflammatory response of pregnant women may affect the directional differentiation and function of fetal immune cells. Objective: We sought to analyze the immune status of newborns from mothers with COVID-19 in the third trimester. Methods: Along with collecting the clinical data from 51 newborns and their respective mothers, we recorded the immunophenotypes and cytokine and immunoglobulin levels of the newborns. Results: None of the 51 newborns showed fever or respiratory distress during hospitalization. Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 nucleic acid in pharyngeal swabs was negative. Except for the low level of CD16-CD56 cells, the count and proportion of lymphocytes, CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD19 were all in the normal range. Moreover, the serum IgG and IgM levels were within the normal range, whereas IL-6 showed increased levels. There was no correlation between maternal COVID-19 duration and the lymphocyte subsets or cytokine levels (IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α). There was a positive correlation between IL-6 and IL-10 levels and CD16-CD56 cells. One (1.96%) infant with an extremely elevated IL-6 concentration developed necrotizing enterocolitis in the third week after birth, and the remaining 50 infants did not show abnormal symptoms through the end of the follow-up period. Conclusions: COVID-19 in the third trimester did not significantly affect the cellular and humoral immunity of the fetus, and there was no evidence that the differentiation of lymphocyte subsets was seriously unbalanced.