Comparison of two antibody screening systems for SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection in recovered and vaccinated subjects

test performance and possible indicators for immunity

authored by

Rebecca Jonczyk, Nils Stanislawski, Lisa K Seiler, Somayeh Ahani, Arne Bueltemeier, Frank Stahl, Sascha Beutel, Holger Blume, Corinna Hauß, Anette Melk, Mira Paulsen, Meike Stiesch, Andreas Winkel, Philipp-Cornelius Pott, Giulietta Saletti, Mariana González-Hernández, Franziska Karola Kaiser, Guus F Rimmelzwaan, Albert D M E Osterhaus, Cornelia Blume

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Detection of seroconversion after SARS-CoV-2-infection or vaccination is relevant to discover subclinical cases and recognize patients with a possible immunity.

OBJECTIVES: Test performance, effects of age, time-point of seroconversion and immune status regarding neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) and T-cell-reactivity were investigated.

STUDY DESIGN: Two antibody assays (Viramed-Test for S/N-specific IgG, Roche-Test for N-specific IgA, -M, -G) were evaluated with classified samples. In total, 381 subjects aged 6-99 years, who had either recovered from the disease or had been vaccinated, were screened for SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. This screening was part of an open observational study with working adults. Additionally, children and adults were analyzed in a longitudinal COVID-19 study in schools. For immunity evaluation, virus neutralization tests and ELISpot tests were performed in a subgroup of subjects.

RESULTS: Viramed revealed a slightly lower test performance than Roche, but test quality was equally well in samples from very young or very old donors. The time-point of seroconversion after the respective immunization detected by the two tests was not significantly different. N-specific antibodies, detected with Roche, highly correlated with NAbs in recovered subjects, whereas a positive Viramed-Test result was paralleled by a positive ELISpot result.

CONCLUSION: Viramed-Test was not as sensitive as Roche-Test, but highly specific and beneficial to distinguish between recovered and vaccinated status. For both tests correlations with humoral and cellular immunity were found. Of note, the expected early detection of IgA and IgM by the Roche-Test did not prove to be an advantage over IgG testing by Viramed.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Technical Chemistry
Institute of Microelectronic Systems
Architectures and Systems Section

External Organisation(s)

MVZ Labor Limbach Hannover
Hannover Medical School (MHH)
University of Veterinary Medicine of Hannover, Foundation

Type

Article

Journal

Journal of Clinical Virology

Volume

157

ISSN

1386-6532

Publication date

12.2022

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Infectious Diseases, Virology

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2022.105322 (Access: Closed)