T-cell responses to ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron variant among unvaccinated pregnant and postpartum women living with and without HIV in South Africa.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 cell-mediated immunity remains understudied during pregnancy in unvaccinated Black African women living with HIV (WLWH) from low- and middle-income countries. We investigated SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses 1 month following infection in 24 HIV-uninfected women and 15 WLWH at any stage during pregnancy or postpartum. The full-length spike (FLS) glycoprotein and nucleocapsid (N) protein of wild-type (WT) SARS-CoV-2, as well as mutated spike protein regions found in the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) were targeted by flow cytometry. WT-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells elicited similar FLS- and N-specific responses in HIV-uninfected women and WLWH. SARS-CoV-2-specific T-lymphocytes were predominantly TNF-α monofunctional in pregnant and postpartum women living

SUBMITTER: McMahon WC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11369237 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature