Emerging Microbes and Infections (Dec 2025)
In vivo determination of protective antibody thresholds for SARS-CoV-2 variants using mouse models
- Peilan Wei,
- Ruoxi Cai,
- Lu Zhang,
- Jingjun Zhang,
- Zhaoyong Zhang,
- Airu Zhu,
- Hai Li,
- Zhen Zhuang,
- Lan Chen,
- Jiantao Chen,
- Yuting Zhang,
- Xinyi Xiong,
- Bin Qu,
- Jianfen Zhuo,
- Tian Tang,
- Yuanyuan Zhang,
- Lei Chen,
- Qier Zhong,
- Zhiwei Lin,
- Xindan Xing,
- Fang Li,
- Qingtao Hu,
- Jun Dai,
- Yongxia Shi,
- Jingxian Zhao,
- Jincun Zhao,
- Yanqun Wang
Affiliations
- Peilan Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Ruoxi Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Lu Zhang
- Health and Quarantine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Guangzhou Customs District Technology Center, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Jingjun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Zhaoyong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Airu Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Hai Li
- NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Zhen Zhuang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Lan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Jiantao Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Yuting Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Xinyi Xiong
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
- Bin Qu
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
- Jianfen Zhuo
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Tian Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Yuanyuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Lei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Qier Zhong
- GMU-GIBH Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Zhiwei Lin
- Health and Quarantine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Guangzhou Customs District Technology Center, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Xindan Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Fang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Qingtao Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Jun Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Yongxia Shi
- Health and Quarantine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Guangzhou Customs District Technology Center, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Jingxian Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Jincun Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Yanqun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2025.2459140
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 14,
no. 1
Abstract
Neutralizing antibody titres have been shown to correlate with immune protection against COVID-19 and can be used to estimate vaccine effectiveness. Numerous studies have explored the relationship between neutralizing antibodies and protection. However, there remains a lack of quantitative data directly assessing the minimum effective protective neutralizing antibody titre in in vivo. In this study, we utilized eight cohorts of participants with diverse immune backgrounds for evaluation of protective antibody response. To precisely assess the lower threshold of neutralizing antibody titres required for effective protection against SARS-CoV-2 infections, we employed plasma adoptive transfer from different cohorts into mice. This study demonstrated that neutralizing titres in the plasma of recipient mice correlated well with those in human donors, and a positive linear correlation was observed between the human and mouse recipients of transferred plasma neutralizing titre. A pseudotyped virus neutralizing titres greater than 7 was identified as the minimum threshold necessary to reduce viral titres in infected mice, establishing a crucial baseline for effective protection. Furthermore, despite the variability in immune backgrounds, these diverse cohorts’ plasma exhibited a similar neutralizing antibody threshold necessary for protection. This finding has significant implications for vaccine design and the assessment of immune competence.
Keywords
