Neutralizing and binding antibody kinetics of COVID-19 patients during hospital and convalescent phases

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of host immune response after natural SARS-CoV-2 infection is essential for the direction of vaccination and epidemiological control strategies against COVID-19.Methods: Thirty-four COVID-19 patients were enrolled with 244 serial blood specimens (38.1% after hospital discharge) collected to explore the chronological evolution of neutralizing (NAb), total (TAb), IgM, IgG and IgA antibody in parallel.Results: IgG titers reached a peak later (35 days postonset) than those of Nab, Ab, IgM and IgA (25 days postonset). IgM levels declined with an estimated half-life of 35 days postonset, which was more rapid than those of IgA and IgG (73-76 days postonset). All patients remained positive for NAb, IgG and IgA up to 3 months after illness onset. The relative contribution of IgM to NAb was higher than that of IgG (standardized β regression coefficient: 0.53 vs 0.48). However, the relative contribution of IgG to NAb increased and that of IgM further decreased after 6 weeks postonset.Conclusions: This study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces robust neutralizing and binding antibody responses in patients. Humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 acquired by infection may persist for a relatively long time.

Longitudinal assessment of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody dynamics and clinical features following convalescence from a COVID-19 infection

“…To date, few studies have longitudinally examined anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels following convalescence from COVID-19 (Beaudoin-Bussieres et al, 2020;Crawford et al, 2020;den Hartog et al, 2021;Figueiredo-Campos et al, 2020;Gudbjartsson et al, 2020;Ibarrondo et al, 2020;Isho et al, 2020;L'Huillier et al, 2021;Lumley et al, 2021;Roltgen et al, 2020;Sasisekharan et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2020;Wheatley et al, 2021;Wu et al, 2020;Yamayoshi et al, 2021;Yao et al, 2020), and reports have yielded contradictory data concerning the longevity of the antibody response. Waning levels of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 within several weeks have been reported, including anti-N, anti-S2 (Cterminal subunit of the spike protein), anti-S1 (N-terminal subunit of the spike protein), anti-RBD1 (receptor binding domain), and neutralizing antibodies (Beaudoin-Bussieres et al, 2020;Ibarrondo et al, 2020;Roltgen et al, 2020;Wheatley et al, 2021), with a more rapid decay of anti-N IgG levels compared to anti-S (Wheatley et al, 2021).…”

“…After infection with SARS-CoV-2, seroconversion usually occurs 7-14 days after diagnosis (Krajewski et al, 2020;Long et al, 2020a;Peeling et al, 2020;To et al, 2020), with a peak in antibody levels observed around 30-35 days following symptom onset (Crawford et al, 2020;Isho et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020;Yao et al, 2020). The longevity of the antibody levels and the durability of immunity following a SARS-CoV-2 infection have not yet been fully elucidated due to the short time elapsed since this disease was first recognized, in contrast to the well-studied antibody kinetics during the acute phase.…”

“…Moreover, the studies that have been conducted to assess the longevity of antibody levels are contradictory. Some report a rapid decline in anti-SARS-CoV-2specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies up to 3 months following an infection (Beaudoin-Bussieres et al, 2020;Ibarrondo et al, 2020;Roltgen et al, 2020), whereas others report stable titers over several months, thus indicating long-lasting immunity (Gudbjartsson et al, 2020;Isho et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020;Yao et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2021). Further studies are warranted to in order to gain a clearer understanding.…”

Clinical predictors of SARS‐CoV‐2 neutralizing antibody titers in COVID‐19 convalescents: Implications for convalescent plasma donor recruitment

“…On average, the nAb titer peaks 30 days after symptom onset and declines by 25% every 15 days 17 (largely due to the decline in neutralizing IgM and IgA) 29,30 . It is therefore sounding that the days since positive nasopharyngeal swab correlates with the nAb titer.…”

Innovative FO-SPR Label-free Strategy for Detecting Anti-RBD Antibodies in COVID-19 Patient Serum and Whole Blood

“… 11 − 13 The latter has been shown in many studies to be likely related to the severity of COVID-19, further emphasizing the significance of knowing this information rather than just the antibody levels. 14 − 18 …”