Baroncelli Silvia, Galluzzo Clementina Maria, Liotta Giuseppe, Andreotti Mauro, Orlando Stefano, Ciccacci Fausto, Mphwere Robert, Luhanga Richard, Sagno Jean Baptiste, Amici Roberta, Marazzi Maria Cristina, Giuliano Marina
National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier, 1, 00133, Rome, Italy.
AIDS Res Ther. 2021 Aug 4;18(1):48. doi: 10.1186/s12981-021-00375-7.
In sub-Saharan African countries Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infection occurs in early childhood. We aim to investigate the factors associated with EBV acquisition and the impact of EBV infection on the humoral response to HBV vaccination in infants born from HIV-positive, antiretroviral-treated mothers in Malawi.
A total of 149 HIV-exposed infants were included in this longitudinal study. EBV anti-VCA IgG were measured using an ELISA assay. The EBV seroconversion was correlated with the maternal viro-immunological conditions, with infant growth and immunological vulnerability, and with the humoral response to the HBV vaccine.
No infant was EBV-positive at 6 months (n. 52 tested). More than a third of infants (49/115 or 42.6 %) on study beyond 6 months seroconverted at 12 months. At 24 months, out of 66 tested infants, only 13 remained EBV-uninfected, while 53 (80.3 %) acquired EBV infection, rising the total proportion of EBV seroconversion to 88.7 % (102/115 infants). EBV seroconversion was significantly associated with a low maternal educational status but had no impact on infant growth or vulnerability to infections. Reduced HBsAb levels and accelerated waning of antibodies were associated with early EBV seroconversion.
We found a heterogeneous timing of acquisition of EBV with the majority of infants born from HIV + mothers acquiring infection after 6 months. Anti-HBs levels were lower and appeared to wane faster in infants acquiring EBV infection.
在撒哈拉以南非洲国家，爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒（EBV）感染发生在儿童早期。我们旨在调查与EBV感染相关的因素，以及EBV感染对马拉维感染艾滋病毒且接受抗逆转录病毒治疗的母亲所生婴儿乙肝疫苗体液免疫反应的影响。
本纵向研究共纳入149名暴露于艾滋病毒的婴儿。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法检测EBV抗VCA IgG。EBV血清学转换与母亲的病毒免疫状况、婴儿生长和免疫易感性以及乙肝疫苗的体液免疫反应相关。
6个月时没有婴儿EBV呈阳性（检测了52名婴儿）。超过三分之一在6个月后仍在研究中的婴儿（49/115或42.6%）在12个月时发生血清学转换。在24个月时，在66名接受检测的婴儿中，只有13名仍未感染EBV，而53名（80.3%）感染了EBV，使EBV血清学转换的总比例升至88.7%（102/115名婴儿）。EBV血清学转换与母亲低教育水平显著相关，但对婴儿生长或感染易感性没有影响。较低的乙肝表面抗体水平和抗体加速衰减与早期EBV血清学转换有关。
我们发现EBV感染的时间存在异质性，大多数感染艾滋病毒母亲所生婴儿在6个月后感染。感染EBV的婴儿中，乙肝表面抗体水平较低，且似乎衰减更快。
