tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Emerg Microbes Infect
. 2020 Aug 20;1-24.
doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1813636. Online ahead of print.
Accurate Serology for SARS-CoV-2 and common Human Coronaviruses using a Multiplex Approach
Sophie van Tol[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ramona M?gling[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wentao Li[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Gert-Jan Godeke[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Arno Swart[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Barbara Bergmans[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Afke Brandenburg[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Kristin Kremer[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jean-Luc Murk[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Josine van Beek[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Bas Wintermans[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP], Johan Reimerink[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Berend-Jan Bosch[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Chantal Reusken[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Serology is a crucial part of the public health response to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but there are still many unknowns. Here, we describe the development, validation and clinical evaluation of a protein micro-array as a quantitative multiplex immunoassay that can identify S and N-directed SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies with high specificity and sensitivity and distinguish them from all currently circulating human coronaviruses. The method specificity was 100% for SARS-CoV-2 S1 and 96 % for N antigen based on extensive syndromic (n=230 cases) and population panel (n=94) testing that also confirmed the high prevalence of seasonal human coronaviruses. To assess the potential role of the protein micro-array for both SARS-CoV-2 patient diagnostics and population studies, we evaluated a large heterogeneous COVID-19 cohort (n=330) and found an overall sensitivity of 89% (≥ 21 days post onset symptoms (dps)), which ranged from 86% to 96% depending on severity of disease. For a subset of these patients longitudinal samples were provided up to 56 dps. We observed an absent or delayed, and lower SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in mild cases. Overall, we present the development and extensive clinical validation of a multiplex human coronavirus serological assay that can be used for syndromic testing, to answer research questions regarding human coronavirus antibody responses, to support SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics where RT-PCR lacks in sensitivity and to evaluate epidemiological developments efficiently and with high-throughput.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; immune profiling; micro-array; serology.
. 2020 Aug 20;1-24.
doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1813636. Online ahead of print.
Accurate Serology for SARS-CoV-2 and common Human Coronaviruses using a Multiplex Approach
Sophie van Tol[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ramona M?gling[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wentao Li[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Gert-Jan Godeke[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Arno Swart[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Barbara Bergmans[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Afke Brandenburg[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Kristin Kremer[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jean-Luc Murk[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Josine van Beek[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Bas Wintermans[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP], Johan Reimerink[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Berend-Jan Bosch[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Chantal Reusken[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32819220
- DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1813636
Abstract
Serology is a crucial part of the public health response to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but there are still many unknowns. Here, we describe the development, validation and clinical evaluation of a protein micro-array as a quantitative multiplex immunoassay that can identify S and N-directed SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies with high specificity and sensitivity and distinguish them from all currently circulating human coronaviruses. The method specificity was 100% for SARS-CoV-2 S1 and 96 % for N antigen based on extensive syndromic (n=230 cases) and population panel (n=94) testing that also confirmed the high prevalence of seasonal human coronaviruses. To assess the potential role of the protein micro-array for both SARS-CoV-2 patient diagnostics and population studies, we evaluated a large heterogeneous COVID-19 cohort (n=330) and found an overall sensitivity of 89% (≥ 21 days post onset symptoms (dps)), which ranged from 86% to 96% depending on severity of disease. For a subset of these patients longitudinal samples were provided up to 56 dps. We observed an absent or delayed, and lower SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in mild cases. Overall, we present the development and extensive clinical validation of a multiplex human coronavirus serological assay that can be used for syndromic testing, to answer research questions regarding human coronavirus antibody responses, to support SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics where RT-PCR lacks in sensitivity and to evaluate epidemiological developments efficiently and with high-throughput.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; immune profiling; micro-array; serology.