Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Oct;92(4):e13934.
doi: 10.1111/aji.13934.

COVID-19 Vaccine mRNA Biodistribution: Maternal and Fetal Exposure Risks

Connie Zhong  1 , Koral Cohen  1 , Xinhua Lin  2 , Emily Schiller  1 , Surendra Sharma  3 , Nazeeh Hanna  2   4
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 Vaccine mRNA Biodistribution: Maternal and Fetal Exposure Risks

Connie Zhong et al. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2024 Oct.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy has severe consequences on maternal and neonatal health. Presently, vaccination stands as a critical preventive measure for mitigating infection-related risks. Although the initial clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines excluded pregnant women, subsequent investigations have indicated mRNA vaccinations' effectiveness and short-term safety during pregnancy. However, there is a lack of information regarding the potential biodistribution of the vaccine mRNA during pregnancy and lactation. Recent findings indicate that COVID-19 vaccine mRNA has been detected in breast milk, suggesting that its presence is not confined to the injection site and raises the possibility of similar distribution to the placenta and the fetus. Furthermore, the potential effects and responses of the placenta and fetus to the vaccine mRNA are still unknown. While potential risks might exist with the exposure of the placenta and fetus to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, the application of mRNA therapies for maternal and fetal conditions offers a groundbreaking prospect. Future research should leverage the unique opportunity provided by the first-ever application of mRNA vaccines in humans to understand their biodistribution and impact on the placenta and fetus in pregnant women. Such insights could substantially advance the development of safer and more effective future mRNA-based therapies during pregnancy.

Keywords: COVID‐19; biodistribution; lipid nanoparticles; neonate; placenta; pregnancy; vaccine mRNA.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. C. Chakraborty, A. R. Sharma, M. Bhattacharya, and S. S. Lee, “From COVID‐19 to Cancer mRNA Vaccines: Moving From Bench to Clinic in the Vaccine Landscape,” Frontiers in Immunology 12 (2021): 679344, https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.679344.
    1. N. Hanna, M. Hanna, and S. Sharma, “Is Pregnancy an Immunological Contributor to Severe or Controlled COVID‐19 Disease?,” American Journal of Reproductive Immunology 84, no. 5 (2020): e13317, https://doi.org/10.1111/aji.13317.
    1. L. Schoenmaker, D. Witzigmann, J. A. Kulkarni, et al., “mRNA‐Lipid Nanoparticle COVID‐19 Vaccines: Structure and Stability,” International Journal of Pharmaceutics 601 (2021): 120586, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120586.
    1. J. Benevent, S. Khettar, and I. Lacroix, “COVID‐19 Vaccines and Pregnancy: What Do We Know?,” Therapie 76, no. 4 (2021): 373–374, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.therap.2021.05.011.
    1. CDC: COVID‐19 Vaccination for People Who Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding, https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/pregnant‐or‐breastfeeding.html#:~:tex....

LinkOut - more resources