Viruses (Dec 2024)
A Global Collaborative Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Antigenicity Across 15 Laboratories
- Polina Brangel,
- Sina Tureli,
- Barbara Mühlemann,
- Nicole Liechti,
- Daniel Zysset,
- Olivier Engler,
- Isabel Hunger-Glaser,
- Ioana Ghiga,
- Giada Mattiuzzo,
- Isabella Eckerle,
- Meriem Bekliz,
- Annika Rössler,
- Melanie M. Schmitt,
- Ludwig Knabl,
- Janine Kimpel,
- Luis Fernando Lopez Tort,
- Mia Ferreira de Araujo,
- Any Caroline Alves de Oliveira,
- Braulia Costa Caetano,
- Marilda Mendonça Siqueira,
- Matthias Budt,
- Jean-Marc Gensch,
- Thorsten Wolff,
- Tarteel Hassan,
- Francis Amirtharaj Selvaraj,
- Tandile Hermanus,
- Prudence Kgagudi,
- Carol Crowther,
- Simone I. Richardson,
- Jinal N. Bhiman,
- Penny L. Moore,
- Samuel M. S. Cheng,
- John K. C. Li,
- Leo L. M. Poon,
- Malik Peiris,
- Victor M. Corman,
- Christian Drosten,
- Lilin Lai,
- Taweewun Hunsawong,
- Kamonthip Rungrojcharoenkit,
- Jindarat Lohachanakul,
- Alex Sigal,
- Khadija Khan,
- Volker Thiel,
- G. Tuba Barut,
- Nadine Ebert,
- Anna Z. Mykytyn,
- Irene Owusu Donkor,
- James Odame Aboagye,
- Prince Adom Nartey,
- Maria D. Van Kerkhove,
- Jane Cunningham,
- Bart L. Haagmans,
- Mehul S. Suthar,
- Derek Smith,
- Lorenzo Subissi
Affiliations
- Polina Brangel
- World Health Organization, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Sina Tureli
- Centre for Pathogen Evolution, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FD, UK
- Barbara Mühlemann
- Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- Nicole Liechti
- WHO BioHub Facility, Spiez Laboratory, 3700 Spiez, Switzerland
- Daniel Zysset
- WHO BioHub Facility, Spiez Laboratory, 3700 Spiez, Switzerland
- Olivier Engler
- WHO BioHub Facility, Spiez Laboratory, 3700 Spiez, Switzerland
- Isabel Hunger-Glaser
- WHO BioHub Facility, Spiez Laboratory, 3700 Spiez, Switzerland
- Ioana Ghiga
- World Health Organization, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Giada Mattiuzzo
- Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, London SW1W 9SZ, UK
- Isabella Eckerle
- Department of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
- Meriem Bekliz
- Department of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
- Annika Rössler
- Institute of Virology, Department of Hygiene, Microbiology and Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Melanie M. Schmitt
- Institute of Virology, Department of Hygiene, Microbiology and Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Ludwig Knabl
- Tyrolpath Obrist Brunhuber GmbH, 6511 Zams, Austria
- Janine Kimpel
- Institute of Virology, Department of Hygiene, Microbiology and Virology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Luis Fernando Lopez Tort
- Laboratory of Respiratory, Exanthematous and Enteric Viruses and Viral Emergencies (LVRE), Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC-Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro 21.040-900, Brazil
- Mia Ferreira de Araujo
- Laboratory of Respiratory, Exanthematous and Enteric Viruses and Viral Emergencies (LVRE), Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC-Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro 21.040-900, Brazil
- Any Caroline Alves de Oliveira
- Laboratory of Respiratory, Exanthematous and Enteric Viruses and Viral Emergencies (LVRE), Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC-Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro 21.040-900, Brazil
- Braulia Costa Caetano
- Laboratory of Respiratory, Exanthematous and Enteric Viruses and Viral Emergencies (LVRE), Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC-Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro 21.040-900, Brazil
- Marilda Mendonça Siqueira
- Laboratory of Respiratory, Exanthematous and Enteric Viruses and Viral Emergencies (LVRE), Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC-Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro 21.040-900, Brazil
- Matthias Budt
- Unit 17 “Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses”, Robert Koch Institut, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Jean-Marc Gensch
- Unit 17 “Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses”, Robert Koch Institut, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Thorsten Wolff
- Unit 17 “Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses”, Robert Koch Institut, 13353 Berlin, Germany
- Tarteel Hassan
- Reference Laboratory for Infectious Diseases, Purelab, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi 51900, United Arab Emirates
- Francis Amirtharaj Selvaraj
- Reference Laboratory for Infectious Diseases, Purelab, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi 51900, United Arab Emirates
- Tandile Hermanus
- SAMRC Antibody Immunity Research Unit, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
- Prudence Kgagudi
- SAMRC Antibody Immunity Research Unit, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
- Carol Crowther
- SAMRC Antibody Immunity Research Unit, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
- Simone I. Richardson
- SAMRC Antibody Immunity Research Unit, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
- Jinal N. Bhiman
- SAMRC Antibody Immunity Research Unit, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
- Penny L. Moore
- SAMRC Antibody Immunity Research Unit, School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
- Samuel M. S. Cheng
- School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- John K. C. Li
- School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Leo L. M. Poon
- School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Malik Peiris
- School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Victor M. Corman
- Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- Christian Drosten
- Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Virology, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- Lilin Lai
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Childhood Infections and Vaccines, Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Taweewun Hunsawong
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research-Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
- Kamonthip Rungrojcharoenkit
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research-Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
- Jindarat Lohachanakul
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research-Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
- Alex Sigal
- The Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
- Khadija Khan
- Africa Health Research Institute, Durban 4013, South Africa
- Volker Thiel
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- G. Tuba Barut
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Nadine Ebert
- Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Anna Z. Mykytyn
- Erasmus Medical Centre, 3015 Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Irene Owusu Donkor
- Medical and Scientific Research Centre, University of Ghana Medical Centre, Accra P.O. Box LG 25, Ghana
- James Odame Aboagye
- Medical and Scientific Research Centre, University of Ghana Medical Centre, Accra P.O. Box LG 25, Ghana
- Prince Adom Nartey
- Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon P.O. Box LG 581, Ghana
- Maria D. Van Kerkhove
- World Health Organization, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Jane Cunningham
- World Health Organization, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- Bart L. Haagmans
- Erasmus Medical Centre, 3015 Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Mehul S. Suthar
- Department of Pediatrics, Center for Childhood Infections and Vaccines, Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Derek Smith
- Centre for Pathogen Evolution, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FD, UK
- Lorenzo Subissi
- World Health Organization, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/v16121936
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 16,
no. 12
p. 1936
Abstract
Setting up a global SARS-CoV-2 surveillance system requires an understanding of how virus isolation and propagation practices, use of animal or human sera, and different neutralisation assay platforms influence assessment of SARS-CoV-2 antigenicity. In this study, with the contribution of 15 independent laboratories across all WHO regions, we carried out a controlled analysis of neutralisation assay platforms using the first WHO International Standard for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (source: NIBSC). Live virus isolates (source: WHO BioHub or individual labs) or spike plasmids (individual labs) for pseudovirus production were used to perform neutralisation assays using the same serum panels. When comparing fold drops, excellent data consistency was observed across the labs using common reagents, including between pseudovirus and live virus neutralisation assays (RMSD of data from mean fold drop was 0.59). Utilising a Bayesian model, geometric mean titres and assay titre magnitudes (offsets) can describe the data efficiently. Titre magnitudes were seen to vary largely even for labs within the same assay group. We have observed that overall, live Microneutralisation assays tend to have the lowest titres, whereas Pseudovirus Neutralisation have the highest (with a mean difference of 3.2 log2 units between the two). These findings are relevant for laboratory networks, such as the WHO Coronavirus Laboratory Network (CoViNet), that seek to support a global surveillance system for evolution and antigenic characterisation of variants to support monitoring of population immunity and vaccine composition policy.
Keywords
