Impact of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 Viral Infection on Immunoglobulin-IgG Cross-Reactivity

Joud Mohammed AlKhalifah; Waleed Seddiq; Mohammed Abdullah Alshehri; Abdulkarim Alhetheel; Ahmed Albarrag; Sultan Ayoub Meo; Jaffar A Al-Tawfiq; Mazin Barry

doi:10.3390/vaccines11030552

Impact of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 Viral Infection on Immunoglobulin-IgG Cross-Reactivity

Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Feb 26;11(3):552. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11030552.

Authors

Joud Mohammed AlKhalifah¹, Waleed Seddiq^{2

3}, Mohammed Abdullah Alshehri¹, Abdulkarim Alhetheel⁴, Ahmed Albarrag⁴, Sultan Ayoub Meo⁵, Jaffar A Al-Tawfiq^{6

7}, Mazin Barry⁸

Affiliations

¹ College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
² Center for Stem Cell and Translational Immunotherapy (CSTI), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
³ Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁴ Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
⁷ Infectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has posed a considerable threat to public health and global economies. SARS-CoV-2 has largely affected a vast world population and was declared a COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, with a substantial surge of SARS-CoV-2 infection affecting all aspects of the virus' natural course of infection and immunity. The cross-reactivity between the different coronaviruses is still a knowledge gap in the understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study aimed to investigate the impact of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 viral infections on immunoglobulin-IgG cross-reactivity. Our retrospective cohort study hypothesized the possible reactivation of immunity in individuals with a history of infection to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) when infected with SARS-CoV-2. The total number of participants included was 34; among them, 22 (64.7%) were males, and 12 (35.29%) were females. The mean age of the participants was 40.3 ± 12.9 years. This study compared immunoglobulin (IgG) levels against SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV across various groups with various histories of infection. The results showed that a reactive borderline IgG against both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 in participants with past infection to both viruses was 40% compared with 37.5% among those with past infection with MERS-CoV alone. Our study results establish that individuals infected with both SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV showed higher MERS-CoV IgG levels compared with those of individuals infected previously with MERS-CoV alone and compared with those of individuals in the control. The results further highlight cross-adaptive immunity between MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. Our study concludes that individuals with previous infections with both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 showed significantly higher MERS-CoV IgG levels compared with those of individuals infected only with MERS-CoV and compared with those of individuals in the control, suggesting cross-adaptive immunity between MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV.

Keywords: MERS-CoV; SARS-CoV-2; coronaviruses; cross-immunity; immunity.

Grants and funding

RSP 2023 R 47/King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia