Longitudinal monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-specific antibody responses in Lower Austria

PLoS One. 2022 Jul 27;17(7):e0271382. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271382. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The Lower Austrian Wachau region was an early COVID-19 hotspot of infection. As previously reported, in June 2020, after the first peak of infections, we determined that 8.5% and 9.0% of the participants in Weißenkirchen and surrounding communities in the Wachau region were positive for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies against the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, respectively. Here, we present novel data obtained eight months later (February 2021) from Weißenkirchen, after the second peak of infection, with 25.0% (138/552) and 23.6% (130/552) of participants that are positive for IgG and IgA, respectively. In participants with previous IgG/IgA positivity (June 2020), we observed a 24% reduction in IgG levels, whereas the IgA levels remained stable in February 2021. This subgroup was further analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 induced T cell activities. Although 76% (34/45) and 76% (34/45) of IgG positive and IgA positive participants, respectively, showed specific T cell activities (upon exposure to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-derived peptides), those were not significantly correlated with the levels of IgG or IgA. Thus, the analyses of antibodies cannot surrogate the measurement of T cell activities. For a comprehensive view on SARS-CoV-2-triggered immune responses, the measurement of different classes of antibodies should be complemented with the determination of T cell activities.

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Antibody Formation*
  • Austria / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin A
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus* / immunology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Immunoglobulin A
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
  • spike protein, SARS-CoV-2

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.