tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Immunol
. 2026 Sep 14:17:1914308.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1914308. eCollection 2026.
Yuhan Ke # 1 , Rongfeng Pan # 2 , Ling Li # 1 , Jing He 3 , Yafang Li 2 , Yuyuan Chen 2 , Hongjie Liu 4 , Jiawei Li 2 , Muzi Luo 5 , Rong Guo 6 , Yan Chen 7 , Danchun Chen 8 9 , Chengfang Xu 1
Affiliations Expand
Introduction: Pregnancy requires coordinated immune adaptation to maintain fetal tolerance while preserving antiviral defense. However, the temporal dynamics of maternal cellular immunity and maternal-fetal antibody transfer after SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy remain incompletely defined.
Methods: We enrolled 52 pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and stratified them by infection-to-delivery interval: <90 days, 90-120 days, and >120 days. Maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells were analyzed by multiparametric flow cytometry. Basal and Omicron BA.5.2 antigen-induced IFN-γ production by CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells were assessed, and SARS-CoV-2-specific S1/RBD IgM and IgG levels were measured in paired maternal and cord blood by ELISA.
Results: Baseline characteristics and major perinatal outcomes were broadly comparable among groups. Maternal T cells retained antigen-inducible IFN-γ responses, with the strongest responses observed in the 90-120-day group. Immune phenotyping revealed interval-associated remodeling of adaptive T-cell subsets, γδ T-cell receptor phenotypes, NK-cell subsets, and selected B-cell compartments. Cord blood IgM remained consistently low, providing no immunological evidence of intrauterine SARS-CoV-2 infection. In contrast, maternal and cord blood IgG levels were positively correlated, indicating preserved transplacental IgG transfer without clear time-dependent changes in transfer efficiency.
Conclusions: These results extend current understanding of post-infection immune adaptation during pregnancy and provide an immunological basis for future longitudinal studies aimed at defining the timing and durability of maternal and neonatal immune protection.
Keywords: IFN-γ; PD-1; SARS-CoV-2; T-cell immunotherapy; maternal-fetal immunity; pregnancy; receptor remodeling; γδ-T cells.
. 2026 Sep 14:17:1914308.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1914308. eCollection 2026.
Dynamic γδ T-cell Receptor remodeling and antigen-induced T-cell IFN-γ responses after SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy: insights for γδ T-cell immunotherapy
Yuhan Ke # 1 , Rongfeng Pan # 2 , Ling Li # 1 , Jing He 3 , Yafang Li 2 , Yuyuan Chen 2 , Hongjie Liu 4 , Jiawei Li 2 , Muzi Luo 5 , Rong Guo 6 , Yan Chen 7 , Danchun Chen 8 9 , Chengfang Xu 1
Affiliations Expand
- PMID: 42807541
- PMCID: PMC13617096
- DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1914308
Abstract
Introduction: Pregnancy requires coordinated immune adaptation to maintain fetal tolerance while preserving antiviral defense. However, the temporal dynamics of maternal cellular immunity and maternal-fetal antibody transfer after SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy remain incompletely defined.
Methods: We enrolled 52 pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and stratified them by infection-to-delivery interval: <90 days, 90-120 days, and >120 days. Maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells were analyzed by multiparametric flow cytometry. Basal and Omicron BA.5.2 antigen-induced IFN-γ production by CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells were assessed, and SARS-CoV-2-specific S1/RBD IgM and IgG levels were measured in paired maternal and cord blood by ELISA.
Results: Baseline characteristics and major perinatal outcomes were broadly comparable among groups. Maternal T cells retained antigen-inducible IFN-γ responses, with the strongest responses observed in the 90-120-day group. Immune phenotyping revealed interval-associated remodeling of adaptive T-cell subsets, γδ T-cell receptor phenotypes, NK-cell subsets, and selected B-cell compartments. Cord blood IgM remained consistently low, providing no immunological evidence of intrauterine SARS-CoV-2 infection. In contrast, maternal and cord blood IgG levels were positively correlated, indicating preserved transplacental IgG transfer without clear time-dependent changes in transfer efficiency.
Conclusions: These results extend current understanding of post-infection immune adaptation during pregnancy and provide an immunological basis for future longitudinal studies aimed at defining the timing and durability of maternal and neonatal immune protection.
Keywords: IFN-γ; PD-1; SARS-CoV-2; T-cell immunotherapy; maternal-fetal immunity; pregnancy; receptor remodeling; γδ-T cells.