ABSTRACT
A detailed understanding of antibody-based SARS-CoV-2 immunity has critical implications for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and informing vaccination strategies. We evaluated SARS-CoV-2 antibody response dynamics in a cohort of 963 individuals over 10 months. Investigating 2,146 samples, we initially detected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 94.4% individuals, with 82% and 79% exhibiting serum and IgG neutralization, respectively. Approximately 3% of patients demonstrated exceptional SARS-CoV-2-neutralization, with these ‘elite neutralizers’ also possessing cross-neutralizing IgG to SARS-CoV-1. Multivariate statistical modeling revealed sero-reactivity, age and fever as key factors predicting SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity. A loss of anti-spike reactivity in 13% individuals was detected 10 months after infection. Neutralizing activity had half-lives of 14.7 weeks in serum versus 31.4 weeks in purified IgG, indicating a stable long-term memory IgG B-cell repertoire. Our results demonstrate a broad spectrum in the initial SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibody response, with sustained antibodies in majority of individuals for 10 months after mild COVID-19.Funding: This work was funded by grants to Florian Kleinfrom the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the German Research Foundation (DFG) CRC1279 and CRC1310, European Research Council (ERC) ERC-stG639961 and COVIM: „NaFoUniMedCovid19“ (FKZ: 01KX2021).Ethical Approval: Blood samples were collected from donors who gave their written consent under the protocols 20-1187 and 16-054, approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University Hospital Cologne.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , FeverABSTRACT
BackgroundThe investigation of antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 represents a key aspect in facing the COVID-19 pandemic. In the present study, we compared one new and four widely used commercial serological assays for the detection of antibodies targeting S (spike) and NC (nucleocapsid) protein. MethodsSerum samples from a group of apparently non-responders, from an unbiased group of convalescent patients and from a negative control group were sim-ultaneously analyzed by the LIAISON(R) SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG test, Euroimmun anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1 IgG ELISA and IDK(R) anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1 IgG assays. IgG binding NC were detected by the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay and by the panimmunoglobulin immunoassay Elecsys(R) Anti-SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, samples were also tested by live virus and pseudovirus neutralization tests. ResultsOverall, about 50% of convalescent patients with undetectable IgG antibodies using the commercial kit by Euroimmun were identified as IgG positive by Immundiagnostik and Roche. While both assays achieved similarly high sensitivities, Immundiagnostik correlated better with serum neutralizing activity than Roche. ConclusionsAlthough the proportion of IgG seropositive individuals appears to be higher using more sensitive immunoassays, the protective ability and the potential to serve as indirect markers of other beneficial immune responses warrants for further research.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
A detailed understanding of antibody-based SARS-CoV-2 immunity has critical implications for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and for informing on vaccination strategies. In this study, we evaluated the dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a cohort of 963 recovered individuals over a period of 10 months. Investigating a total of 2,146 samples, we detected an initial SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in 94.4% of individuals, with 82% and 79% exhibiting serum and IgG neutralization, respectively. Approximately 3% of recovered patients demonstrated exceptional SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity, defining them as ‘elite neutralizers’. These individuals also possessed effective cross-neutralizing IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-1 without any known prior exposure to this virus. By applying multivariate statistical modeling, we found that sero-reactivity, age, time since disease onset, and fever are key factors predicting SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity in mild courses of COVID-19. Investigating longevity of the antibody response, we detected loss of anti-spike reactivity in 13% of individuals 10 months after infection. Moreover, neutralizing activity had an initial half-life of 6.7 weeks in serum versus 30.8 weeks in purified IgG samples indicating the presence of a more stable and long-term memory IgG B cell repertoire in the majority of individuals recovered from COVID-19. Our results demonstrate a broad spectrum of the initial SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody response depending on clinical characteristics, with antibodies being maintained in the majority of individuals for the first 10 months after mild course of COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , FeverABSTRACT
A detailed understanding of antibody-based SARS-CoV-2 immunity has critical implications for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and for informing on vaccination strategies. In this study, we evaluated the dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a cohort of 963 recovered individuals over a period of 10 months. Investigating a total of 2,146 samples, we detected an initial SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in 94.4% of individuals, with 82% and 79% exhibiting serum and IgG neutralization, respectively. Approximately 3% of recovered patients demonstrated exceptional SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity, defining them as ‘elite neutralizers’. These individuals also possessed effective cross-neutralizing IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-1 without any known prior exposure to this virus. By applying multivariate statistical modeling, we found that sero-reactivity, age, time since disease onset, and fever are key factors predicting SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing activity in mild courses of COVID-19. Investigating longevity of the antibody response, we detected loss of anti-spike reactivity in 13% of individuals 10 months after infection. Moreover, neutralizing activity had an initial half-life of 6.7 weeks in serum versus 30.8 weeks in purified IgG samples indicating the presence of a more stable and long-term memory IgG B cell repertoire in the majority of individuals recovered from COVID-19. Our results demonstrate a broad spectrum of the initial SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody response depending on clinical characteristics, with antibodies being maintained in the majority of individuals for the first 10 months after mild course of COVID-19.