Presence of CoV-2 antibody in vitreous humor after Cov-2 infection
Yuntong Li,
Jiaqing Li,
Songshan Li,
Zhengjie Xu,
Wei Ma,
Xinyan Wu,
Yayi Yan,
Ying Wang,
Andina Hu
Affiliations
Yuntong Li
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Jiaqing Li
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Songshan Li
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Zhengjie Xu
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Wei Ma
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Xinyan Wu
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Yayi Yan
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Ying Wang
State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Andina Hu
Corresponding author.; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, China
Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a life-threatening disease with largely unknown intraocular pathogenesis. Herein, we determined the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific ribonucleic acid (RNA) and virus-associated antibodies in the vitreous humor of people who have recently recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design: This cross-sectional study included 33 patients (33 eyes) who have recently recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Vitreous humor and blood serum samples were tested for the SARS-CoV-2 RNA and virus-associated antibodies. Results: Among 33 participants, blood serum and vitreous humor were all tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2-specific IgM was detected in 87.88 % (29/33) patients in blood serum and 6.10 % (2/33) in vitreous humor; SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG was detected in 96.97 % (32/33) patient in blood serum and 81.82 % (27/33) in vitreous humor. Statistical significance was found for IgM expression between blood serum and vitreous humor (P < 0.01), while IgG was not (P = 0.11). The days after recovery were statistically longer both in IgM-positive blood serum samples group and IgG-positive vitreous humor samples group compared with negative samples of each group (P < 0.01). Additionally, no statistical difference could be detected in antibody expression in vitreous humor between different groups divided on the condition of the risk of blood-retina-barrier (BRB) failure (P = 0.49 for IgM; P = 0.37 for IgG). Conclusion: After recovering from COVID-19, no SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in vitreous humor, but anti-CoV-2 IgM was detected in 6.1 % and IgG in approximately 80 % of vitreous humor samples of participants. We also found that the positivety rate of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in the blood serum and vitreous humor were both correlated with the days after recovery since the infection.
