The immune response of pregnant women against COVID-19 is different depending on the sex of the fetus that is developing in their womb. This has been revealed by a study carried out by members of two hospitals, the Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s (USA), in which it has been determined that the sex of the baby is key when it comes to fighting SARS-CoV -two.
Pregnant women with COVID-19 produced lower levels of antibodies in the case of expecting a boy, than in the case that the fetus was a girl
Specifically, in the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, it has been found that pregnant women expecting a child have lower levels of antibodies against COVID-19 and transmit less immunity to the fetuses through the placenta, compared to pregnant women. female babies.
The research has been carried out thanks to blood and placenta samples from 68 pregnant women, of whom 38 had COVID-19 in the third trimester of pregnancy and the rest were not infected with the coronavirus. The sex ratio of the babies was half boys and half girls.
Men are more vulnerable to COVID-19 in childhood
The results indicated that the placentas of pregnant boys had a much higher expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISG) than in the case of girls, and this could indicate that boys would be less protected against the disease than girls. . In addition, an increase in ISG expression and subsequent immune cell (cytokine) production was observed, which can also occur in an inflamed uterus, and is related to more risk of metabolic or neuronal disease later in life.
Another important finding was that future mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 produced lower levels of antibodies in the case of expecting a boy, than in the case of being a girl; this interferes with the levels of transmission of this type of protection to the fetus. Therefore, boys may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 during childhood.
“The sex of the fetus influenced both the mother’s ability to generate antibodies against the coronavirus, and the ability to transfer them to her baby”
“The sex of the fetus influenced both the mother’s ability to generate antibodies against the coronavirus and to transfer them to her baby. While our study did not specifically assess those risks, it does raise the importance of following these children and looking at male and female fetuses differently,” explains Andrea Edlow, lead author of the research.
The researchers are now analyzing how vaccination against COVID-19 with Pfizer and Moderna affects, as they seek to know what happens in the placenta when pregnant women receive these injections in each of the trimesters of pregnancy, in addition to finding out how it affects sex of the baby in that answer.
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