Publications by authors named "Sara Brigida"
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates how maternal infection with SARS-CoV-2 affects immune responses in the placenta and its implications for fetal brain development, particularly focusing on Hofbauer cells (HBCs), which act as fetal placental macrophages.
- Researchers analyzed HBCs from term placentas of pregnant individuals who tested positive or negative for SARS-CoV-2, finding notable differences in gene expression and impaired functions like phagocytosis in certain HBC subpopulations.
- The findings indicate that HBCs can be transformed into microglia-like cells, allowing for personalized models to study microglial programming in children affected by maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Article Synopsis
- Maternal infection with SARS-CoV-2 activates immune responses that can adversely affect fetal brain development through fetal brain microglia, which are difficult to study directly.
- Researchers found that Hofbauer cells (HBCs) from pregnancies affected by SARS-CoV-2 show different cellular responses and impaired functions crucial for brain development compared to HBCs from unaffected pregnancies.
- The study suggests that HBCs can be transformed into microglia-like cells, providing a unique opportunity to create personalized models to better understand how maternal infections influence the programming of offspring's brain immune cells.
Background: Although emerging data during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have demonstrated robust messenger RNA vaccine-induced immunogenicity across populations, including pregnant and lactating individuals, the rapid waning of vaccine-induced immunity and the emergence of variants of concern motivated the use of messenger RNA vaccine booster doses. Whether all populations, including pregnant and lactating individuals, will mount a comparable response to a booster dose is not known.
Objective: This study aimed to profile the humoral immune response to a COVID-19 messenger RNA booster dose in a cohort of pregnant, lactating, and nonpregnant age-matched women.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the effects of three different COVID-19 vaccines on the immune response in both pregnant individuals and their newborns.
- Findings show that mRNA vaccines (mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2) produce better antibody responses compared to the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine, with mRNA-1273 performing slightly better than BNT162b2.
- Vaccination in the first and third trimesters boosts maternal immune responses and improves antibody transfer to the baby, suggesting that the timing of vaccination plays a crucial role in immunity.
There is limited information on the specific impact of maternal infection with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.
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- There is a notable sex difference in COVID-19 severity, with males generally experiencing worse outcomes, although the reasons for this are not fully understood.
- The study investigates how maternal-fetal interactions related to antibody transfer and interferon responses are influenced by fetal sex in pregnancies affected by SARS-CoV-2.
- Findings reveal that pregnant women with male fetuses display different levels of placental immune responses and antibody transfer, indicating that fetal sex affects maternal immunity to the virus.
Background: Expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and type II transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS2), host molecules required for viral entry, may underlie sex differences in vulnerability to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We investigated whether placental ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression vary by fetal sex in the presence of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Methods: Placental ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression was quantified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and by Western blot in 68 pregnant women (38 SARS-CoV-2 positive, 30 SARS-CoV-2 negative) delivering at Mass General Brigham from April to June 2020.
There is a persistent male bias in the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 disease. Underlying mechanisms accounting for this sex difference remain incompletely understood. Interferon responses have been implicated as a modulator of disease in adults, and play a key role in the placental anti-viral response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pregnant and lactating women were excluded from initial coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine trials; thus, data to guide vaccine decision making are lacking.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the immunogenicity and reactogenicity of coronavirus disease 2019 messenger RNA vaccination in pregnant and lactating women compared with: (1) nonpregnant controls and (2) natural coronavirus disease 2019 infection in pregnancy.
Study Design: A total of 131 reproductive-age vaccine recipients (84 pregnant, 31 lactating, and 16 nonpregnant women) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study at 2 academic medical centers.
Background: Pregnant and lactating women were excluded from initial COVID-19 vaccine trials; thus, data to guide vaccine decision-making are lacking. We sought to evaluate the immunogenicity and reactogenicity of COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in pregnant and lactating women.
Methods: 131 reproductive-age vaccine recipients (84 pregnant, 31 lactating, and 16 non-pregnant) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study at two academic medical centers.