Characterization of SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral immunity and associated factors in the healthy population post-vaccination

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate factors that may influence humoral immunity post-vaccination with a COVID-19-inactivated vaccine (SC2IV).

Methods: A total of 1596 healthy individuals from the Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University (1217) and Shenzhen Baotian Hospital (379) were enrolled in this study among which 694 and 218 participants were vaccinated with two-dose SC2IV, respectively. Physical examination indices were recorded. The levels of neutralizing antibody (NA), Spike IgG, receptor-binding domain (RBD) IgG, RBD IgG + IgM + IgA, and nucleocapsid IgG of SARS-CoV-2 were measured by a non-virus ELISA kit. Multiple statistical analyses were carried out to identify factors that influence humoral immunity post-vaccination.

Results: The two-dosage vaccination could induce NA in more than 90 % of recipients. The NA has the strongest correlation with anti-RBD IgG. Age is the most important independent index that affects the NA level, while basophil count, creatine kinase-MB, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, the ratio of albumin to urine creatinine, and thyroglobulin antibody have relatively minor contributions. Indices that affect the NA level were different between males and females. Antibodies targeting other epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 were detected in recipients without anti-RBD.

Conclusions: The factors identified in association with the NA level post-vaccination may help to evaluate the protective effect, risk of re-infection, the severity of symptoms, and prognosis for vaccine recipients in clinical.

Keywords: COVID-19; Neutralizing antibodies; RBD; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccines.