UTMB set to research breast milk’s COVID-19 antibodies
Back in June, Dr. Roberto Garofalo, vice chair for research in the department of pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch, drafted a grant proposal to the Gerber Foundation to examine two categories of pregnant women: those who were infected with COVID-19 during their pregnancy or perinatal period and those who have never had the virus.
The foundation approved a three-year, $300,000 grant for UTMB to determine whether breast milk has an innate ability to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus, or if an infected mother who recovers can pass antibodies to her child through her milk.
Garofalo hopes to collect colostrum — the initial milk produced immediately after delivery — and breast milk from 50 mothers right after birth and their “mature milk,” which comes a few days later.
“My interest over the past 30 years has been looking at innate factors that are protected in milk. In this case, it would be women who never had a history of COVID, and yet, potentially have anti-COVID, anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in their breast milk,” Garofalo said.
In the study, which launched in November, breast milk of women who have tested negative will be examined for antiviral factors. Milk from women who had a confirmed COVID-19 case will be tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Since it remains unclear whether the virus can be shed into breast milk, scientists will look for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, as well.
Researchers already know breast milk has natural neutralizing properties that could help fight infection, including antibodies, fats, sugars and white blood cells, Garofalo said. Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce asthma risks, Type 1 diabetes and severe lower respiratory disease and gastrointestinal infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Younger infants seem to be less affected or unaffected by COVID, Garofalo said, and researchers think it may have to do with breastfeeding.
Newly vaccinated mothers will be used as a control group, Garofalo said. Since pregnant women were not included in Moderna or Pfizer’s clinical trials, vaccinated mothers will present new information on how the vaccine’s benefits may transfer through the breast milk.
“We know they have been vaccinated with the ideal amount of the virus,” he said. “We can potentially look at those women with vaccinations and see if they have specific antibodies in their breast milk already.”
Immunoglobulin A (IGA) antibodies are present in breast milk and continue to provide protection to the baby while he or she is breastfeeding, said Dr. Kjersti Aaagard, professor in obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine at Texas Children’s Hospital. Fetuses start their own immune development as early as 16 weeks inside the womb.
Garofalo is working with Dr. George Saade, professor and chief of obstetrics and maternalfetal medicine at UTMB, to enroll pregnant women who will participate in the study following the birth of their child. The women will deliver at UTMB facilities.
Before Garofalo’s study, Saade and his team were already collecting biospecimen — blood and breast milk — from COVID-positive patients right after birth. He said there could be multiple studies conducted from the collected specimens.
Results from this study could help doctors treat other infections, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or types of influenza, Garofalo said. The fact that SARS-CoV-2 is easily transmitted opened avenues of research that haven’t been prioritized with other, less contagious viruses, he added.
“With COVID, we have a vaccine that has been approved, so we can go through and test (the breast milk theories),” Garofalo said. “It’s a great opportunity we have at this point.”