Skip to main content
PMC home page
Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
. 1998 Nov;79(3):F202–F205. doi: 10.1136/fn.79.3.f202

Placental antibody transfer: influence of maternal HIV infection and placental malaria

M I de Moraes-Pinto, F Verhoeff, L Chimsuku, P Milligan, L Wesumperuma, R Broadhead, B Brabin, P Johnson, C Hart
PMCID: PMC1720856  PMID: 10194992

Abstract

AIM—To determine the influence of placental malaria, maternal HIV infection, and maternal hypergammaglobulinaemia on transplacental IgG antibody transfer.
METHODS—One hundred and eighty materno-neonatal pairs from a Malawian population were assessed. Cord and maternal serum samples were tested for total serum IgG antibody titres using nephelometry, and for specific IgG antibody titres to Streptococcus pneumoniae, measles, and tetanus toxoid antibodies using an enzyme linked immunsorbent assay (ELISA).
RESULTS—Multiple regression analyses showed that placental malaria was associated with a decrease in placental IgG antibody transfer to S pneumoniae and measles to 82% and 81%, respectively. Maternal HIV infection was associated with a reduction in IgG antibody transfer to S pneumoniae to 79%; raised maternal total serum IgG titres were correlated with S pneumoniae and measles IgG antibody transfer reduction to 86% and 87%, respectively. No effect was seen with tetanus toxoid antibody transfer.
CONCLUSION—The combined influence of placental malaria, maternal HIV infection, and maternal hypergammaglobulinaemia seems to be linked to the low transplacental antibody transfer observed in the Malawian population.



Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (96.0 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ada G. Global aspects of vaccination. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 1995 Dec;108(4):304–308. doi: 10.1159/000237171. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boersma E. R. Serum immunoglobulins IgG, IgM, and IgA in maternal cord blood pairs from infants of normal and low birthweights in Tanzania. Arch Dis Child. 1981 Jan;56(1):31–35. doi: 10.1136/adc.56.1.31. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brair M. E., Brabin B. J., Milligan P., Maxwell S., Hart C. A. Reduced transfer of tetanus antibodies with placental malaria. Lancet. 1994 Jan 22;343(8891):208–209. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(94)90991-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Claesson B. A., Schneerson R., Robbins J. B., Johansson J., Lagergard T., Taranger J., Bryla D., Levi L., Cramton T., Trollfors B. Protective levels of serum antibodies stimulated in infants by two injections of Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugate. J Pediatr. 1989 Jan;114(1):97–100. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(89)80611-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Englund J. A., Anderson E. L., Reed G. F., Decker M. D., Edwards K. M., Pichichero M. E., Steinhoff M. C., Rennels M. B., Deforest A., Meade B. D. The effect of maternal antibody on the serologic response and the incidence of adverse reactions after primary immunization with acellular and whole-cell pertussis vaccines combined with diphtheria and tetanus toxoids. Pediatrics. 1995 Sep;96(3 Pt 2):580–584. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Galbraith R. M., Fox H., Hsi B., Galbraith G. M., Bray R. S., Faulk W. P. The human materno-foetal relationship in malaria. II. Histological, ultrastructural and immunopathological studies of the placenta. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1980;74(1):61–72. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(80)90012-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gendrel D., Richard-Lenoble D., Blot P., Fribourg-Blanc A. Transfert des immunoglobulines et des anticorps antirougeoleux de la mère à l'enfant en Afrique et en Europe. Presse Med. 1988 Sep 24;17(32):1633–1636. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gendrel D., Richard-Lenoble D., Massamba M. B., Picaud A., Moreno J. L., Gendrel C., Baziomo J. M., Francoual C., Blot P. Transfert placentaire des anticorps antitétaniques et protection du nouveau-né. Arch Fr Pediatr. 1990 Dec;47(10):725–729. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kövamees J., Sheshberadaran H., Chiodi F., Schwartz S., Orvell C., Fenyö E. M., Norrby E. Accentuated antibody response to paramyxoviruses in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus. J Med Virol. 1988 Sep;26(1):41–48. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890260107. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Michaux J. L., Heremans J. F., Hitzig W. H. Immunoglobulin levels in cord-blood serum of negroes and Caucasians. Trop Geogr Med. 1966 Mar;18(1):10–14. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. O'Dempsey T. J., McArdle T., Ceesay S. J., Secka O., Demba E., Banya W. A., Francis N., Greenwood B. M. Meningococcal antibody titres in infants of women immunised with meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine during pregnancy. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 1996 Jan;74(1):F43–F46. doi: 10.1136/fn.74.1.f43. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. REILLY C. M., STOKES J., Jr, BUYNAK E. B., GOLDNER H., HILLEMAN M. R. Living attenuated measles-virus vaccine in early infancy. Studies of the role of passive antibody in immunization. N Engl J Med. 1961 Jul 27;265:165–169. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196107272650403. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sarvas H., Kurikka S., Seppälä I. J., Mäkelä P. H., Mäkelä O. Maternal antibodies partly inhibit an active antibody response to routine tetanus toxoid immunization in infants. J Infect Dis. 1992 May;165(5):977–979. doi: 10.1093/infdis/165.5.977. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sato H., Albrecht P., Reynolds D. W., Stagno S., Ennis F. A. Transfer of measles, mumps, and rubella antibodies from mother to infant. Its effect on measles, mumps, and rubella immunization. Am J Dis Child. 1979 Dec;133(12):1240–1243. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1979.02130120032005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Shahid N. S., Steinhoff M. C., Hoque S. S., Begum T., Thompson C., Siber G. R. Serum, breast milk, and infant antibody after maternal immunisation with pneumococcal vaccine. Lancet. 1995 Nov 11;346(8985):1252–1257. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(95)91861-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. de Moraes-Pinto I., Hart C. A. Transplacental antibody transfer and neonatal immunity. Br J Hosp Med. 1997 Oct 1;58(7):317–319. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. de Moraes-Pinto M. I., Almeida A. C., Kenj G., Filgueiras T. E., Tobias W., Santos A. M., Carneiro-Sampaio M. M., Farhat C. K., Milligan P. J., Johnson P. M. Placental transfer and maternally acquired neonatal IgG immunity in human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Infect Dis. 1996 May;173(5):1077–1084. doi: 10.1093/infdis/173.5.1077. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. de Moraes-Pinto M. I., Farhat C. K., Carbonare S. B., Curti S. P., Otsubo M. E., Lazarotti D. S., Campagnoli R. C., Carneiro-Sampaio M. M. Maternally acquired immunity in newborns from women infected by the human immunodeficiency virus. Acta Paediatr. 1993 Dec;82(12):1034–1038. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1993.tb12805.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES