Early-Life Colonization by Anelloviruses in Infants
Joanna Kaczorowska,
Aurelija Cicilionytė,
Anne L. Timmerman,
Martin Deijs,
Maarten F. Jebbink,
Johannes B. van Goudoever,
Britt J. van Keulen,
Margreet Bakker,
Lia van der Hoek
Affiliations
Joanna Kaczorowska
Amsterdam UMC, Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Aurelija Cicilionytė
Amsterdam UMC, Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Anne L. Timmerman
Amsterdam UMC, Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Martin Deijs
Amsterdam UMC, Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Maarten F. Jebbink
Amsterdam UMC, Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Johannes B. van Goudoever
Amsterdam UMC, Department of Pediatrics, University of Amsterdam, Emma Children’s Hospital, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Britt J. van Keulen
Amsterdam UMC, Department of Pediatrics, University of Amsterdam, Emma Children’s Hospital, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Margreet Bakker
Amsterdam UMC, Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Lia van der Hoek
Amsterdam UMC, Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Location University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Anelloviruses (AVs) are found in the vast majority of the human population and are most probably part of a healthy virome. These viruses infect humans in the early stage of life, however, the characteristics of the first colonizing AVs are still unknown. We screened a collection of 107 blood samples from children between 0.4 and 64.8 months of age for the presence of three AV genera: the Alpha-, Beta- and Gammatorquevirus. The youngest child that was positive for AV was 1.2 months old, and a peak in prevalence (100% of samples positive) was reached between the twelfth and eighteenth months of life. Intriguingly, the beta- and gammatorqueviruses were detected most at the early stage of life (up to 12 months), whereas alphatorqueviruses, the most common AVs in adults, increased in prevalence in children older than 12 months. To determine whether that order of colonization may be related to oral transmission and unequal presence of AV genera in breast milk, we examined 63 breast milk samples. Thirty-two percent of the breast milk samples were positive in a qPCR detecting beta- and gammatorqueviruses, while alphatorqueviruses were detected in 10% of the samples, and this difference was significant (p = 0.00654). In conclusion, we show that beta- and gammatorqueviruses colonize humans in the first months of life and that breastfeeding could play a role in AV transmission.
