ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite SARS-CoV-2 immunizations have started in most countries, children are not currently included in the vaccination programs, thus it remains crucial to define their anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response in order to minimize the risk for other epidemic waves. This study seeks to provide a description of the virology ad anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity in children with distinct symptomatology. METHODS: Between March and July 2020, we recruited 15 SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic (AS) and 51 symptomatic children (SY), stratified according to WHO clinical classification. We measured SARS-CoV-2 viral load using ddPCR and qPCR in longitudinally collected nasopharyngeal swabs samples. To define anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies we measured neutralization activity and total IgG load (Diasorin). We also evaluated antigen-specific B and CD8+T-cells, using a labelled S1+S2 protein and ICAM expression, respectively. Plasma protein profiling was performed with Olink. RESULTS: Virological profiling showed that AS had lower viral load at diagnosis (p=0.004) and faster virus clearance (p=0.0002) compared to SY. Anti-SARS CoV-2 humoral and cellular response did not appear to be associated with the presence of symptoms. AS and SY showed similar titers of SARS-CoV-2 IgG, levels of neutralizing activity, and frequency of Ag-specific B and CD8+T-cells. Whereas pro-inflammatory plasma protein profile was associated to symptomatology. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cellular response with any regards to symptomatology, suggesting the ability of both SY and AS to contribute towards herd immunity. The virological profiling of AS suggested that they have lower virus load associated with faster virus clearance.
Subject(s)
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes , Asymptomatic DiseasesABSTRACT
Background SARS-CoV-2 serology presents an important role in understanding the virus epidemiology, in vaccine prioritization strategies and in convalescent plasma therapy. Immunoassays performances have to be accurately evaluated and correlated with neutralizing antibodies to be used as a surrogate measure of neutralizing activity. We investigate the analytical and clinical performance of a SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG assay, automated on a high throughput platform, and the correlation of the antibodies (Ab) levels with the plaque reduction neutralization (PRNT 50 ) Ab titers. Methods A series of 546 samples were evaluated by SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG assay (Snibe diagnostics), including 171 negative and 168 positive SARS-CoV-2 subjects and a further group of 207 subjects of the COVID-19 family clusters follow-up cohort. Results Assay precision was acceptable at low and medium levels; linearity was excellent in all the measurement range. Considering specimens collected after 14 days post symptoms onset, overall sensitivity and specificity were 99.0% and 92.5%, respectively. A total of 281 leftover samples results of the PRNT 50 test were available. An elevated correlation was obtained between the SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG assay and the PRNT 50 titer at univariate (rho = 0.689) and multivariate (rho = 0.712) analyses. Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD IgG assay achieves elevated analytical and clinical performances, and a strong correlation with sera neutralization activity.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
As the global COVID-19 pandemic progresses and with the school reopening, it is paramount to gain knowledge on adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in children in order to define possible immunization strategies and reconsider pandemic control measures. We analyzed anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (Ab) and their neutralizing activity (PRNT) in 42 COVID-19-infected children 7 days after symptoms onset. Individuals with specific humoral responses presented faster virus clearance, and lower viral load associated to a reduced in vitro infectivity. We demonstrated that the frequencies of SARS-CoV-2 specific CD4-CD40L+ T-cells and Spike specific B-cells were associated with the anti-SARS-CoV-2 Ab and the magnitude of neutralizing activity. The plasma proteome confirmed the association between cellular and humoral SARS-CoV-2 immunity, with PRNT+ patients showing higher viral signal transduction molecules (SLAMF1, CD244, CLEC4G). This work shed lights on cellular and humoral anti-SARS-CoV-2 responses in children which may drive future vaccination trials endpoints and quarantine measures policies.Funding: This work was made possible by support from Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital ricerca corrente 2020 to NC and ricerca corrente 2019 to PP, by PENTA and by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo, Progetti di Ricerca Covid-19 (ADR participant).Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests.Ethical Approval: Local ethical committee approved the study and written informed consent was obtained from all participants or legal guardians.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
Rapid and accurate diagnostic tests are essential for controlling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Although the current gold standard involves testing of nasopharyngeal swabs specimens by nucleic acid amplification test, such as real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) to detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it presents several limitations that ultimately may translate into a bottleneck in the surveillance regimen. New strategies based on frequent testing using less invasive specimens are urgently needed for containment of the infection. Rapid antigen assay using saliva as a reliable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs should be proposed as a valuable part of the overall testing strategy.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
BackgroundReliable high-throughput serological assays for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (Abs) are urgently needed for the effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it is of crucial importance to understand the strength and duration of immunity after infection, and to make informed decisions concerning the activation or discontinuation of physical distancing restrictions. MethodsIn 184 serum samples from 130 COVID-19 patients and 54 SARS-CoV-2 negative subjects, the analytical and clinical performances of four commercially available chemiluminescent assays (Abbott SARS-Cov-2 IgG, Roche Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2, Ortho SARS-CoV-2 total and IgG) and one enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Diesse ENZY-WELL SARS-CoV-2 IgG) were evaluated and compared with the neutralization activity achieved using the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). FindingsPrecision results ranged from 0.9% to 11.8% for all assays. Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated linearity of results at concentrations within the cut-off value. Overall, sensitivity ranged from 78.5 to 87.8%, and specificity, from 97.6 to 100%. On limiting the analysis to samples collected 12 days after onset of symptoms, the sensitivity of all assays increased, the highest value (95.2%) being obtained with VITRO Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Total and Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG. The strongest PRNT50 correlation with antibody levels was obtained with ENZY-Well SARS-CoV-2 IgG (rho = 0.541, p < 0.001). InterpretationThe results confirmed that all immunoassays had an excellent specificity, whereas sensitivity varied across immunoassays, depending strongly on the time interval between symptoms onset and sample collection. Further studies should be conducted to achieve a stronger correlation between antibody measurement and PRNT50 in order to obtain useful information for providing effective passive antibody therapy, and developing a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is a global public health emergency. COVID-19 typically manifests as a respiratory illness but an increasing number of clinical reports describe gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. This is particularly true in children in whom GI symptoms are frequent and viral shedding outlasts viral clearance from the respiratory system. By contrast, fetuses seem to be rarely affected by COVID-19, although the virus has been detected in placentas of affected women. These observations raise the question of whether the virus can infect and replicate within the stomach once ingested. Moreover, it is not yet clear whether active replication of SARS-CoV-2 is possible in the stomach of children or in fetuses at different developmental stages. Here we show the novel derivation of fetal gastric organoids from 8-21 post-conception week (PCW) fetuses, and from pediatric biopsies, to be used as an in vitro model for SARS-CoV-2 gastric infection. Gastric organoids recapitulate human stomach with linear increase of gastric mucin 5AC along developmental stages, and expression of gastric markers pepsinogen, somatostatin, gastrin and chromogranin A. In order to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection with minimal perturbation and under steady-state conditions, we induced a reversed polarity in the gastric organoids (RP-GOs) in suspension. In this condition of exposed apical polarity, the virus can easily access viral receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The pediatric RP-GOs are fully susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, where viral nucleoprotein is expressed in cells undergoing programmed cell death, while the efficiency of infection is significantly lower in fetal organoids. The RP-GOs derived from pediatric patients show sustained robust viral replication of SARS-CoV-2, compared with organoids derived from fetal stomachs. Transcriptomic analysis shows a moderate innate antiviral response and the lack of differentially expressed genes belonging to the interferon family. Collectively, we established the first expandable human gastric organoid culture across fetal developmental stages, and we support the hypothesis that fetal tissue seems to be less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially in early stages of development. However, the virus can efficiently infect gastric epithelium in pediatric patients, suggesting that the stomach might have an active role in fecal-oral transmission of SARS-CoV-2.