A high-throughput liquid bead array assay confirms strong correlation between SARS-CoV-2 antibody level and COVID-19 severity
Monique Bennett,
Sandra Yoder,
Eric Brady,
Jill M. Pulley,
Jillian P. Rhoads,
Thomas G. Stewart,
Gordon R. Bernard,
C. Buddy Creech,
Allison P. Wheeler,
Isaac Thomsen
Affiliations
Monique Bennett
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4), Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Sandra Yoder
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Eric Brady
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Jill M. Pulley
Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Jillian P. Rhoads
Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Thomas G. Stewart
Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Gordon R. Bernard
Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
C. Buddy Creech
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4), Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Allison P. Wheeler
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Isaac Thomsen
Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation (VI4), Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: A detailed understanding of the adaptive host response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans is urgently needed. We developed a sensitive, high-throughput, and efficient assay using liquid bead array technology. We observed advantages over traditional ELISA for the detection and quantification of binding IgG against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2. To determine whether COVID-19 symptom severity correlates with SARS-CoV-2 IgG, we measured anti-RBD IgG levels from 67 subjects recovered from PCR-confirmed COVID-19. We found that COVID-19 symptom severity strongly correlated with RBD IgG level (p < 0.001). These findings have substantial implications for public policy surrounding assessments of antibody responses and possible immunity, as not all cases of COVID-19 can be assumed to generate a protective antibody response, and mild disease in particular is capable of generating very low-level anti-RBD IgG levels. These findings also have important implications for the selection of donors for convalescent plasma to be used therapeutically.
