Determination of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with coronavirus infection

Abstract

COVID-19, caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, poses major challenges for global public health. The detection of antibodies in blood serum is one of the important methods for diagnostics of COVID-19 patients.

The main aim was to study the dynamics of the appearance of neutralizing antibodies and antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 proteins in COVID-19 patients sera.

Material and methods. The blood sera of four groups of people were studied: “intact” donors (blood sera were collected in 2016–2019); patients with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of acute respiratory viral infection; patients with influenza (antibodies to the influenza virus have been identified) and patients with a PCR confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Blood sera were analyzed in ELISA with commercial kits for detection of IgG to SARS-CoV-2 (N, S) proteins and total antibodies to RBD of protein S and in neutralization test (NT).

Results and discussion. Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were not detected in paired blood sera of people from groups 1–3 by ELISA and NT. At the time of hospitalization of patients with COVID-19 in the sera of 12 (19%) patients antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were absent when they were determined by NT and ELISA. In blood sera taken 4–9 days after hospitalization, neutralizing antibodies and antibodies to at least one viral protein were detected in ELISA.

Conclusion. At the time of hospitalization, the overwhelming majority of patients had a humoral immune response to the SARS-CoV-2. In the dynamics of observation, the levels of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 proteins increased, to a greater extent to RBD.

Keywords:COVID-19; antibody against SARS-CoV-2 proteins; virus neutralizing antibodies

Funding. The work was carried out within the framework of work on the theme of the State Assignment No. АААА-А20-120081790043-5.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Contribution. Research concept and design – Ignatiev G.M., Ishmukhametov A.A., Maksimov N.L., Artemov E.K., Lioznov D.A.; collection of material – Aleshenko N.L., Danilenko D.M., Klotchenko S.A.; material processing, statistical data processing, writing the text of the article – Kozlovskaya L.I., Mefed K.M., Volok V.P., Pinyaeva A.N.; editing – Belyaletdinova I.Kh., Erovichenkov A.A.; approval of the final version of the article – Ignatiev G.M., Ishmukhametov A.A.; responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article – Kozlovskaya L.I., Ignatiev G.M.

For citation: Ignatyev G.M., Kozlovskaya L.I., Mefed K.M., Volok V.P., Belyaletdinova I.Kh., Erovichenkov A.A., Danilenko D.M., Ale- shenko N.L., Klotchenko S.A., Maksimov N.L., Аrtemov Е.К., Piniaeva A.N., Lioznov D.A., Ishmukhametov A.A. Determination of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with coronavirus infection. Infektsionnye bolezni: novosti, mneniya, obuchenie [Infectious Diseases: News, Opinions, Training]. 2022; 11 (1): 21–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33029/2305-3496-2022-11-1-21-27

References

1. Zhou P., Yang X.L., Wang X.G., Hu B., et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature. 2020; 579 (7798): 270–3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7

2. Coronaviridae Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. The species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nat Microbiol. 2020; 5 (4): 536–44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-020-0695-z

3. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19, 11 March 2020. World Health Organization, 11 March 2020. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020

4. Okba N.M.A., Müller M.A., Li W., Wang C., et al. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-specific antibody responses in coronavirus disease patients. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020; 26 (7): 1478–88. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.200841

5. Meyer B., Drosten C., Müller M.A. Serological assays for emerging coronaviruses: challenges and pitfalls. Virus Res. 2014; 194: 175–83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2014.03.018

6. Wu F., Wang A., Liu M., Wang Q., et al. Neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in a COVID-19 recovered patient cohort and their implications. medRxiv. 2020.03.30.20047365. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.30.20047365

7. Amanat F., Stadlbauer D., Strohmeier S., Nguyen T.H.O., et al. A serological assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion in humans. Nat Med. 2020; 26 (7): 1033–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0913-5

8. Zhao J., Yuan Q., Wang H., Liu W., et al. Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients of novel coronavirus disease 2019. Clin Infect Dis. 2020: ciaa344. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa344

9. Narita M., Yamada S., Matsuzono Y., Itakura O., et al. Immunoglobulin G avidity testing in serum and cerebrospinal fluid for analysis of measles virus infection. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 1996; 3 (2): 211–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/cdli.3.2.211-215.1996

10. Atrasheuskaya A.V., Kulak M.V., Neverov A.A., Rubin S., Ignatyev G.M. Measles cases in highly vaccinated population of Novosibirsk, Russia, 2000–2005. Vaccine. 2008; 26 (17): 2111–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.02.028

11. Karber G. Beitrag zur kollecktiven Behandlung pharmakologischer Reihenversuche. Arch Exptl Pathol Pharmakol. 1931; 162: 480–3.

All articles in our journal are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0 license)

CHIEF EDITOR
Aleksandr V. Gorelov
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MD, Head of Infection Diseases and Epidemiology Department of the Scientific and Educational Institute of Clinical Medicine named after N.A. Semashko ofRussian University of Medicine, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Professor of the Department of Childhood Diseases, Clinical Institute of Children's Health named after N.F. Filatov, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Deputy Director for Research, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology, Rospotrebnadzor (Moscow, Russian Federation)

Journals of «GEOTAR-Media»