De Marco Verissimo, Carolina and O'Brien, Carol and López Corrales, Jesús and Dorey, Amber and Cwiklinski, Krystyna and Lalor, Richard and Doyle, Jack M. and Field, Stephen and Masterson, Claire and Ribes Martinez, Eduardo and Hughes, Gerry and Bergin, Colm and Walshe, Kieran and McNicholas, Bairbre and Laffey, John G. and Dalton, John P. and Kerr, Colm and Doyle, Sean
(2021)
Improved diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 by using nucleoprotein and spike protein fragment 2 in quantitative dual ELISA tests.
Epidemiology and Infection, 149 (e140).
pp. 1-11.
ISSN 0950-2688
Abstract
The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the
causative agent of the 2020 worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Antibody testing is useful for
diagnosing historic infections of a disease in a population. These tests are also a helpful
epidemiological tool for predicting how the virus spreads in a community, relating antibody
levels to immunity and for assessing herd immunity. In the present study, SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins were recombinantly produced and used to analyse serum from individuals previously
exposed, or not, to SARS-CoV-2. The nucleocapsid (Npro) and spike subunit 2 (S2Frag) proteins
were identified as highly immunogenic, although responses to the former were generally greater.
These two proteins were used to develop two quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays
(ELISAs) that when used in combination resulted in a highly reliable diagnostic test. Npro and
S2Frag-ELISAs could detect at least 10% more true positive coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases than the commercially available ARCHITECT test (Abbott). Moreover, our quantitative ELISAs also show that specific antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 proteins tend to wane rapidly even
in patients who had developed severe disease. As antibody tests complement COVID-19 diagnosis and determine population-level surveillance during this pandemic, the alternative diagnostic
we present in this study could play a role in controlling the spread of the virus.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
COVID-19;
diagnosis;
nucleocapsid protein;
SARS-CoV-2;
spike protein; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering > Biology |
| Item ID: |
16223 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268821001308 |
| Depositing User: |
Dr. Sean Doyle
|
| Date Deposited: |
05 Jul 2022 12:02 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Epidemiology and Infection |
| Publisher: |
Cambridge University Press |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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