Antibody reaction in children different from that in adults – healing practice

Better protection against COVID-19 in children?

When infected with SARS-CoV-2, children show a different antibody reaction than infected adults, which appears to protect them better.

When infected with SARS-CoV-2, children produce different types and amounts of antibodies than adults, according to a study by researchers at Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Columbia University. The study was published in the English-language journal Nature Immunology.

Different antibodies from children and adults

“Our study offers a detailed examination of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in children and shows a strong contrast to adults,” reports immunologist Dr. Donna Farber in a news release.

Are children better protected?

The observed differences in antibodies suggest that the course of infection and immune response in children is different from that in adults, and that most children can easily clear the virus from their bodies.

In children, the course of the infection is much shorter. They may be able to get rid of this virus more efficiently than adults, and they may not need a strong antibody immune response to kill it, the researchers add.

Benefits of the immune system of children

One of the obvious features of the COVID-19 pandemic is that most children are coping well with the virus, while the elderly struggle with it. COVID-19 is a new infectious disease for everyone, but children are uniquely used to experiencing pathogens for the first time. Your immune system is designed for this, the team explains.

What is the protective effect in children based on?

Children have many so-called naive T lymphocytes that are able to recognize all kinds of new pathogens, while older people are more dependent on immunological memory. As a result, adults react more poorly to new pathogens.

The study included 47 children, 16 of whom were treated for multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, and 31 children of similar ages tested positive for the virus when they were treated for various illnesses. Half of the children without MIS-C showed no COVID-19 symptoms.

Additionally, 32 adults were screened for the study. These included seriously ill people who had been hospitalized, but also people who had a milder form of the disease and who recovered at home.

Differences in the antibody profile

The study found that both groups of children produced the same antibody profile, which was different from that of adults, the researchers explain. Compared to adults, the children produced fewer antibodies against the virus’s spike protein. The virus uses them to infect human cells. Antibodies from children had the lowest neutralizing activity, while all adults, including young adults aged 20 and over, produced neutralizing antibodies. The most seriously ill adults showed the most neutralizing activity, the researchers report.

While it may seem counterintuitive for seriously ill people to produce antibodies with maximum neutralizing activity, this likely reflects the length of time the virus has been active in the body, experts suspect.

Relationship between immune response and extent of infection

There is a connection between the magnitude of the immune response and the extent of the infection: the more severe the infection, the more robust the immune response, because more immune cells and immune reactions are needed to eliminate a higher dose of an agent pathogenic, the team explains.

Other differences

Unlike adults, children also produce very few antibodies against a viral protein, which the immune system only becomes visible after the virus has already infected human cells.

“This suggests that the infection doesn’t spread much in children and doesn’t kill many of their cells,” explains Dr. Farber. Because children get rid of the natural virus quickly, the infection cannot spread and they don’t need a strong antibody response, the team explains.

Infectious children for a shorter time?

The immune response in children may also suggest that they are infectious for a shorter period of time than adults and therefore are less likely to spread the virus, the researchers report. However, viral load was not measured in children.

However, “current studies in other countries suggest that school-age children are not carriers of the novel coronavirus, so our data is in line with these findings,” said Dr. Farber.

What is the lack of an adult immune system?

Although the results show that the course of infection is different in children and adults, it is unclear why children can clear the virus more easily and what the adult immune system lacks, the team reports. There are various assumptions, but more research is needed to gain a better understanding. (such as)