Circulating rotavirus-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) predict the presence of rotavirus-specific ASCs in the human small intestinal lamina propria.

Rotaviruses are the most important cause of infectious diarrhea in children throughout the world. Protection is most likely mediated by small-intestinal virus-specific IgA. However, neither fecal nor serum virus-specific IgA clearly correlates with protection against challenge. The capacity of rotavirus-specific antibodies and rotavirus-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) in the circulation to predict the presence of ASCs in the intestines of children was evaluated. Mononuclear cells from intestinal biopsy samples and blood from 21 children were enriched for CD38, a marker of terminally differentiated B cells, and evaluated for the presence of virus-specific and total IgA- and IgG-secreting cells, by ELISPOT assay. Serum virus-specific IgA and IgG levels were determined by ELISA. The ratio of virus-specific to total IgA-secreting cells in the blood correlated with that found in the small, but not large, intestine. In contrast, serum rotavirus-specific IgA correlated less well with the presence of virus-specific ASCs in the small intestine.