TY - JOUR
T1 - Sex, age, and hospitalization drive antibody responses in a COVID-19 convalescent plasma donor population
AU - Klein, Sabra L.
AU - Pekosz, Andrew
AU - Park, Han Sol
AU - Ursin, Rebecca L.
AU - Shapiro, Janna R.
AU - Benner, Sarah E.
AU - Littlefield, Kirsten
AU - Kumar, Swetha
AU - Naik, Harnish Mukesh
AU - Betenbaugh, Michael J.
AU - Shrestha, Ruchee
AU - Wu, Annie A.
AU - Hughes, Robert M.
AU - Burgess, Imani
AU - Caturegli, Patricio
AU - Laeyendecker, Oliver
AU - Quinn, Thomas C.
AU - Sullivan, David
AU - Shoham, Shmuel
AU - Redd, Andrew D.
AU - Bloch, Evan M.
AU - Casadevall, Arturo
AU - Tobian, Aaron A.R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2020, American Society for Clinical Investigation.
PY - 2020/11/2
Y1 - 2020/11/2
N2 - Convalescent plasma is a leading treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but there is a paucity of data identifying its therapeutic efficacy. Among 126 potential convalescent plasma donors, the humoral immune response was evaluated using a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV-2) virus neutralization assay with Vero-E6-TMPRSS2 cells; a commercial IgG and IgA ELISA to detect the spike (S) protein S1 domain (EUROIMMUN); IgA, IgG, and IgM indirect ELISAs to detect the full-length S protein or S receptor–binding domain (S-RBD); and an IgG avidity assay. We used multiple linear regression and predictive models to assess the correlations between antibody responses and demographic and clinical characteristics. IgG titers were greater than either IgM or IgA titers for S1, full-length S, and S-RBD in the overall population. Of the 126 plasma samples, 101 (80%) had detectable neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers. Using nAb titers as the reference, the IgG ELISAs confirmed 95%–98% of the nAb-positive samples, but 20%–32% of the nAb-negative samples were still IgG ELISA positive. Male sex, older age, and hospitalization for COVID-19 were associated with increased antibody responses across the serological assays. There was substantial heterogeneity in the antibody response among potential convalescent plasma donors, but sex, age, and hospitalization emerged as factors that can be used to identify individuals with a high likelihood of having strong antiviral antibody responses.
AB - Convalescent plasma is a leading treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but there is a paucity of data identifying its therapeutic efficacy. Among 126 potential convalescent plasma donors, the humoral immune response was evaluated using a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV-2) virus neutralization assay with Vero-E6-TMPRSS2 cells; a commercial IgG and IgA ELISA to detect the spike (S) protein S1 domain (EUROIMMUN); IgA, IgG, and IgM indirect ELISAs to detect the full-length S protein or S receptor–binding domain (S-RBD); and an IgG avidity assay. We used multiple linear regression and predictive models to assess the correlations between antibody responses and demographic and clinical characteristics. IgG titers were greater than either IgM or IgA titers for S1, full-length S, and S-RBD in the overall population. Of the 126 plasma samples, 101 (80%) had detectable neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers. Using nAb titers as the reference, the IgG ELISAs confirmed 95%–98% of the nAb-positive samples, but 20%–32% of the nAb-negative samples were still IgG ELISA positive. Male sex, older age, and hospitalization for COVID-19 were associated with increased antibody responses across the serological assays. There was substantial heterogeneity in the antibody response among potential convalescent plasma donors, but sex, age, and hospitalization emerged as factors that can be used to identify individuals with a high likelihood of having strong antiviral antibody responses.
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U2 - 10.1172/JCI142004
DO - 10.1172/JCI142004
M3 - Article
C2 - 32764200
AN - SCOPUS:85091018297
SN - 0021-9738
VL - 130
SP - 6141
EP - 6150
JO - Journal of Clinical Investigation
JF - Journal of Clinical Investigation
IS - 11
ER -