Development of SARS-CoV-2 variant protein microarray for profiling humoral immunity in vaccinated subjects

Biosens Bioelectron. 2022 May 15:204:114067. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114067. Epub 2022 Feb 8.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is quickly evolving from wild-type to many variants and spreading around the globe. Since many people have been vaccinated with various types of vaccines, it is crucial to develop a high throughput platform for measuring the antibody responses and surrogate neutralizing activities against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants. To meet this need, the present study developed a SARS-CoV-2 variant (CoVariant) array which consists of the extracellular domain of spike variants, e.g., wild-type, D614G, B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, B.1.617, B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2, and B.1.617.3. A surrogate virus neutralization on the CoVariant array was established to quantify the bindings of antibody and host receptor ACE2 simultaneously to spike variants. By using a chimeric anti-spike antibody, we demonstrated a broad binding spectrum of antibodies while inhibiting the bindings of ACE2 to spike variants. To monitor the humoral immunities after vaccination, we collected serums from unvaccinated, partial, or fully vaccinated individuals with either mRNA-1273 or AZD1222 (ChAdOx1). The results showed partial vaccination increased the surrogate neutralization against all the mutants while full vaccination boosted the most. Although IgG, IgA, and IgM isotypes correlated with surrogate neutralizing activities, they behave differently throughout the vaccination processes. Overall, this study developed CoVariant arrays and assays for profiling the humoral responses which are useful for immune assessment, vaccine research, and drug development.

Keywords: Neutralizing antibody; Protein microarray; SARS-CoV-2; Serology; Vaccine; Variants of concern.

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Biosensing Techniques*
  • COVID-19*
  • ChAdOx1 nCoV-19
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Humoral
  • Protein Array Analysis
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus

Substances

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
  • spike protein, SARS-CoV-2
  • ChAdOx1 nCoV-19

Supplementary concepts

  • SARS-CoV-2 variants