SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine induces robust specific and cross-reactive IgG and unequal neutralizing antibodies in naive and previously infected people

Abstract

Understanding vaccine-mediated protection against SARS-CoV-2 is critical to overcoming the global COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate mRNA vaccine-induced antibody responses against the reference strain, seven variants, and seasonal coronaviruses in 168 healthy individuals at three-time points: before vaccination, after the first, and after the second doses. Following complete vaccination, both naïve and previously infected individuals developed comparably robust SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies and variable levels of cross-reactive antibodies to seasonal coronaviruses. However, the strength and frequency of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in naïve individuals were lower than in previously infected individuals. After the first vaccine dose, 1/3 rd of previously infected individuals lacked neutralizing antibodies; this was improved to 1/5 th after the second dose. In all individuals, neutralizing antibody responses against the Alpha and Delta variants were weaker than against the reference strain. Our findings support future tailored vaccination strategies against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants as mRNA-vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies are highly variable among individuals.

The Serological Sciences Network (SeroNet) for COVID-19: Depth and Breadth of Serology Assays and Plans for Assay Harmonization

“…Collectively, Seronet institutions reported development of 27 in-house ELISA methods (Table 1). 6,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The majority of ELISA methods were developed for testing of serum and/or plasma, with additional methods available for testing dried blood spots (DBS), saliva/oral fluid, and breast milk. Two methods have been granted FDA EUA approval, 3 methods are pending FDA EUA, 4 methods are validated for high-complexity testing in a CLIA-certified laboratory, and 18 methods are for research-use only (RUO).…”

“…Narowski et al also found a significant decline in the longitudinal sensitivity of their lab-developed nucleocapsid assay in a study of healthcare workers. 6 Perez-Saez et al similarly demonstrated that the rates of sero-reversion at least 8 months after the initial infection differed greatly depending on the serological assay used. 4 While the sero-reversion rate of the EuroImmun semiquantitative anti-S1 IgG ELISA was 26%, the rate was significantly lower for the Roche anti-Nucleocapsid total antibody assay (1.2%) and the Roche semiquantitative anti-RBD total antibody assay (0%).…”

“…For example, several studies have reported on heterogeneity in serological assay performance that would have a significant impact on research study conclusions and clinical interpretations related to longitudinal serosurveillance. [3][4][5][6] Specifically, certain assays demonstrate reduced sensitivity over time after an initial SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis. Muecksch et al reported that the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 anti-Nucleocapsid IgG assay dropped from a peak sensitivity of 98% at 21 -40 days post-PCR diagnosis, to around 70% when patients were tested ≥ 81 days post-diagnosis, whereas the Roche Elecsys SARS-CoV-2 anti-Nucleocapsid total antibody assay and Siemens SARS-CoV-2 anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) total antibody assay both maintained high sensitivity (95 -100%) on the same set of serial samples.…”

“…Narowski et al also found a significant decline in the longitudinal sensitivity of their lab-developed nucleocapsid assay in a study of healthcare workers. 6 Perez-Saez et al…”

Sera Metabolomics Characterization of Patients at Different Stages in Wuhan Identifies Critical Biomarkers of COVID-19

“…The high infectivity of the Omicron strain is most likely due to the fact that the Omicron strain infects and duplicates 70 times faster in the bronchi than the Delta strain and the original SARS-CoV-2 strain ( Dejnirattisai et al., 2022 ; Zhang et al., 2022 ). However, it is promising to note that lung infection caused by the Omicron strain is significantly less dangerous than that of the Delta strain as well as the original SARS-CoV-2 strain, which is a key indicator of the severity of the disease, and this explains to some extent the predominance of patients infected with the Omicron strain who are just ordinary patients ( Chen et al., 2022 ; Hu et al., 2022 ; Narowski et al., 2022 ). Although great efforts have been made to investigate human coronavirus disease, the molecular mechanisms of the pathogenesis of COVID-19 are still poorly studied ( Pennisi et al., 2020 ; Ritter et al., 2020 ; Yang et al., 2020 ).…”