An Overview of the Conventional and Novel Methods Employed for SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody Measurement

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is the etiological agent of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and is responsible for the pandemic that started in 2020. The virus enters the host cell through the interaction of its spike glycoprotein with the angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) on the host cell’s surface. Antibodies present an important role during the infection and pathogenesis due to many reasons, including the neutralization of viruses by binding to different spike epitopes. Therefore, measuring the neutralizing antibody titers in the whole population is important for COVID-19’s epidemiology. Different methods are described in the literature, and some have been used to validate the main vaccines used worldwide. In this review, we discuss the main methods used to quantify neutralizing antibody titers, their advantages and limitations, as well as new approaches to determineACE2/spike blockage by antibodies.

Validation of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 microneutralization assay for evaluation of vaccine immunogenicity

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“…In NT, virus and patient serum are mixed and inoculated into the cells. The N-Abs present in the serum bind to the free virus and prevent the virus from binding to the receptors of the host cell and infecting the cells (129,130).…”

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“…The binding of SARS-CoV-2 via its receptor-binding domain (RBD) to its cognate receptor ACE2 on human cells has been revealed as a critical target for active and passive immunization strategies and anti-viral treatment regimens [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Accordingly, treatments focusing on the ACE2–RBD interaction can be studied using virus-neutralization tests and molecular interaction assays (MIAs) [ 11 , 12 ].…”