Frontiers in Immunology (Sep 2022)

Association between IgG responses against the nucleocapsid proteins of alphacoronaviruses and COVID-19 severity

  • Julius Nückel,
  • Julius Nückel,
  • Elisa Planatscher,
  • Anne Wiebe Mohr,
  • Anne Wiebe Mohr,
  • Karolin Deichl,
  • Hrvoje Mijočević,
  • Martin Feuerherd,
  • Lisa Wolff,
  • Johanna Erber,
  • Jochen Schneider,
  • Michael Quante,
  • Christoph Winter,
  • Christoph Winter,
  • Jürgen Ruland,
  • Jürgen Ruland,
  • Jürgen Ruland,
  • Alexander Hapfelmeier,
  • Wolfgang Hammerschmidt,
  • Andreas Moosmann,
  • Andreas Moosmann,
  • Ulrike Protzer,
  • Ulrike Protzer,
  • Uta Behrends,
  • Uta Behrends,
  • Uta Behrends,
  • Josef Mautner,
  • Josef Mautner,
  • Josef Mautner,
  • Josef Mautner

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.889836
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Understanding immune responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is crucial to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a multiplex approach, serum IgG responses against the whole SARS-CoV-2 proteome and the nucleocapsid proteins of endemic human coronaviruses (HCoVs) were measured in SARS-CoV-2-infected donors and healthy controls. COVID-19 severity strongly correlated with IgG responses against the nucleocapsid (N) of SARS-CoV-2 and possibly with the number of viral antigens targeted. Furthermore, a strong correlation between COVID-19 severity and serum responses against N of endemic alpha- but not betacoronaviruses was detected. This correlation was neither caused by cross-reactivity of antibodies, nor by a general boosting effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pre-existing humoral immunity. These findings raise the prospect of a potential disease progression marker for COVID-19 severity that allows for early stratification of infected individuals.

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