Association of Age With SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response.

TitleAssociation of Age With SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2021
AuthorsYang HS, Costa V, Racine-Brzostek SE, Acker KP, Yee J, Chen Z, Karbaschi M, Zuk R, Rand S, Sukhu A, Klasse PJ, Cushing MM, Chadburn A, Zhao Z
JournalJAMA Netw Open
Volume4
Issue3
Paginatione214302
Date Published2021 03 01
ISSN2574-3805
KeywordsAge Factors, Antibodies, Neutralizing, Antibodies, Viral, Antibody Affinity, Antibody Formation, Child, Correlation of Data, COVID-19, COVID-19 Serological Testing, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Immunoglobulin G, Male, Middle Aged, New York City, SARS-CoV-2
Abstract

Importance: Accumulating evidence suggests that children infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are more likely to manifest mild symptoms and are at a lower risk of developing severe respiratory disease compared with adults. It remains unknown how the immune response in children differs from that of adolescents and adults.

Objective: To investigate the association of age with the quantity and quality of SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used 31 426 SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results from pediatric and adult patients. Data were collected from a New York City hospital from April 9 to August 31, 2020. The semiquantitative immunoglobin (Ig) G levels were compared between 85 pediatric and 3648 adult patients. Further analysis of SARS-CoV-2 antibody profiles was performed on sera from 126 patients aged 1 to 24 years.

Main Outcomes and Measures: SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity rates and IgG levels were evaluated in patients from a wide range of age groups (1-102 years). SARS-CoV-2 IgG level, total antibody (TAb) level, surrogate neutralizing antibody (SNAb) activity, and antibody binding avidity were compared between children (aged 1-10 years), adolescents (aged 11-18 years), and young adults (aged 19-24 years).

Results: Among 31 426 antibody test results (19 797 [63.0%] female patients), with 1194 pediatric patients (mean [SD] age, 11.0 [5.3] years) and 30 232 adult patients (mean [SD] age, 49.2 [17.1] years), the seroprevalence in the pediatric (197 [16.5%; 95% CI, 14.4%-18.7%]) and adult (5630 [18.6%; 95% CI, 18.2%-19.1%]) patient populations was similar. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG level showed a negative correlation with age in the pediatric population (r = -0.45, P < .001) and a moderate but positive correlation with age in adults (r = 0.24, P < .001). Patients aged 19 to 30 years exhibited the lowest IgG levels (eg, aged 25-30 years vs 1-10 years: 99 [44-180] relative fluorescence units [RFU] vs 443 [188-851] RFU). In the subset cohort aged 1 to 24 years, IgG, TAb, SNAb and avidity were negatively correlated with age (eg, IgG: r = -0.51; P < .001). Children exhibited higher median (IQR) IgG levels, TAb levels, and SNAb activity compared with adolescents (eg, IgG levels: 473 [233-656] RFU vs 191 [82-349] RFU; P < .001) and young adults (eg, IgG levels: 473 [233-656] RFU vs 85 [38-150] RFU; P < .001). Adolescents also exhibited higher median (IQR) TAb levels, IgG levels, and SNAb activity than young adults (eg, TAb levels: 961 [290-2074] RFU vs 370 [125-697]; P = .006). In addition, children had higher antibody binding avidity compared with young adults, but the difference was not significant.

Conclusions and Relevance: The results of this study suggest that SARS-CoV-2 viral specific antibody response profiles are distinct in different age groups. Age-targeted strategies for disease screening and management as well as vaccine development may be warranted.

DOI10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.4302
Alternate JournalJAMA Netw Open
PubMed ID33749770
PubMed Central IDPMC7985726
Grant ListP01 AI110657 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
R01 AI036082 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
Related Faculty: 
Amy Chadburn, M.D. He Sarina Yang, Ph.D. Melissa Cushing, M.D. Sabrina Racine-Brzostek, M.D., Ph.D. Zhen Zhao, Ph.D.

Category:

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