Performance evaluation of newly developed surrogate virus neutralization tests for detecting neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

We evaluated newly developed surrogate virus neutralization tests (sVNT) for detecting neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against the receptor binding domain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). VERI-Q SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody Detection ELISA Kit (MiCo BioMed, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea, hereafter, “eCoV-CN”) is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based sVNT, and VERI-Q SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody Rapid Test Kit (MiCo BioMed, hereafter, “rCoV-RN”) is a point-of-care lateral-flow immunochromatography test with auto-scanner. A total of 411 serum samples were evaluated. Both evaluations used a 50% plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT50) as the gold standard. Compared with PRNT50, the eCoV-CN showed 98.7% positive percent agreement (PPA), 96.8% negative percent agreement (NPA), 97.4% total percent agreement (TPA), with kappa values of 0.942. The rCoV-RN showed 98.7% PPA, 97.4% NPA, 97.8% TPA, and kappa values of 0.951, comparing to PRNT50. Neither assay indicated cross-reactivity for other pathogens, and the signal indexes were statistically significantly correlated to the PRNT50 titer. The two evaluated sVNTs show comparable performances to the PRNT50 with the advantages of technical simplicity, speed, and do not require cell culture facilities.

Accuracy of Anti-SARS-CoV2 Antibody in Comparison with Surrogate Viral Neutralization Test in Person Living with HIV, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Chronic Kidney Disease

“…The best examination to measure the level of immune response is using the plaque reduction neutralization test, but this test is challenging and can only be done in a well-resourced laboratories. Surrogate Viral Neutralization Test (SVNT) is an easier alternative that can be conducted in standard immunological lab and has been well received as reference [6]. The measurement of antibody level against SARS-CoV2-S-RBD antigen test is another examination that is regarded as being simple to perform.…”

Accuracy of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibody in Comparison with Surrogate Viral Neutralization Test in Persons Living with HIV, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, and Chronic Kidney Disease

“…However, this test is challenging and can only be performed in a wellresourced laboratory. The surrogate viral neutralization test (sVNT) is a more accessible alternative that can be conducted in standard immunological labs and has been well received as a reference [6]. The measurement of antibody levels using the anti SARS-CoV-2-S-RBD antibody test is another examination that is regarded as being simple to perform.…”