[HTML][HTML] Cellular immunity in COVID-19 convalescents with PCR-confirmed infection but with undetectable SARS-CoV-2–specific IgG

S Schwarzkopf, A Krawczyk, D Knop… - Emerging infectious …, 2021 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
S Schwarzkopf, A Krawczyk, D Knop, H Klump, A Heinold, FM Heinemann, L Thümmler…
Emerging infectious diseases, 2021ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
We investigated immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 (SARS-CoV-2) among a group of convalescent, potential blood donors in Germany who
had PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sixty days after onset of symptoms, 13/78 (17%)
study participants had borderline or negative results to an ELISA detecting IgG against the
S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2. We analyzed participants with PCR-confirmed infection who had
strong antibody responses (ratio> 3) as positive controls and participants without symptoms …
Abstract
We investigated immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among a group of convalescent, potential blood donors in Germany who had PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sixty days after onset of symptoms, 13/78 (17%) study participants had borderline or negative results to an ELISA detecting IgG against the S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2. We analyzed participants with PCR-confirmed infection who had strong antibody responses (ratio> 3) as positive controls and participants without symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and without household contact with infected patients as negative controls. Using interferon-γ ELISpot, we observed that 78% of PCR-positive volunteers with undetectable antibodies showed T cell immunity against SARS-CoV-2. We observed a similar frequency (80%) of T-cell immunity in convalescent donors with strong antibody responses but did not detect immunity in negative controls. We concluded that, in convalescent patients with undetectable SARS-CoV-2 IgG, immunity may be mediated through T cells.
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