Centenarians and extremely old people living with frailty can elicit durable SARS-CoV-2 spike specific IgG antibodies with virus neutralization functions following virus infection as determined by serological study

Mary K. Foley; Samuel D. Searle; Ali Toloue; Ryan Booth; Alec Falkenham; Darryl Falzarano; Salvatore Rubino; Magen E. Francis; Mara McNeil; Christopher Richardson; Jason LeBlanc; Sharon Oldford; Volker Gerdts; Melissa K. Andrew; Shelly A. McNeil; Barry Clarke; Kenneth Rockwood; David J. Kelvin; Alyson A. Kelvin

EClinicalMedicine (Jul 2021)

Centenarians and extremely old people living with frailty can elicit durable SARS-CoV-2 spike specific IgG antibodies with virus neutralization functions following virus infection as determined by serological study

Mary K. Foley,
Samuel D. Searle,
Ali Toloue,
Ryan Booth,
Alec Falkenham,
Darryl Falzarano,
Salvatore Rubino,
Magen E. Francis,
Mara McNeil,
Christopher Richardson,
Jason LeBlanc,
Sharon Oldford,
Volker Gerdts,
Melissa K. Andrew,
Shelly A. McNeil,
Barry Clarke,
Kenneth Rockwood,
David J. Kelvin,
Alyson A. Kelvin

Affiliations

Mary K. Foley: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
Samuel D. Searle: Divsion of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada; MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, London, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT, England United Kingdom
Ali Toloue: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
Ryan Booth: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
Alec Falkenham: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
Darryl Falzarano: Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E3, Canada; Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Salvatore Rubino: Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Magen E. Francis: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E3, Canada
Mara McNeil: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
Christopher Richardson: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
Jason LeBlanc: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada; Canadian Centre for Vaccinology, IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia, Halifax, B3K 6R8 Canada; Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Halifax, B3H 4R2, Canada
Sharon Oldford: Canadian Centre for Vaccinology, IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia, Halifax, B3K 6R8 Canada; Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Halifax, B3H 4R2, Canada
Volker Gerdts: Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E3, Canada; Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Melissa K. Andrew: Divsion of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
Shelly A. McNeil: Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E3, Canada
Barry Clarke: Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Halifax, B3H 4R2, Canada
Kenneth Rockwood: Divsion of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
David J. Kelvin: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada; Canadian Centre for Vaccinology, IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia, Halifax, B3K 6R8 Canada; Laboratory of Immunity, Shantou University Medical College, 22 Xinling Rd, Jinping, Shantou, China
Alyson A. Kelvin: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E3, Canada; Canadian Centre for Vaccinology, IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia, Halifax, B3K 6R8 Canada; Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3K 6R8, Canada; Corresponding author at : Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E3, Canada.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 37
p. 100975

Abstract

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Background: The SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2) has led to more than 165 million COVID-19 cases and >3.4 million deaths worldwide. Epidemiological analysis has revealed that the risk of developing severe COVID-19 increases with age. Despite a disproportionate number of older individuals and long-term care facilities being affected by SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, very little is understood about the immune responses and development of humoral immunity in the extremely old person after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here we conducted a serological study to investigate the development of humoral immunity in centenarians following a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in a long-term care facility. Methods: Extreme aged individuals and centenarians who were residents in a long-term care facility and infected with or exposed to SARS-CoV-2 were investigated between April and June 2020 for the development of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Blood samples were collected from positive and bystander individuals 30 and 60 days after original diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Plasma was used to quantify IgG, IgA, and IgM isotypes and subsequent subclasses of antibodies specific for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The function of anti-spike was then assessed by virus neutralization assays against the native SARS-CoV-2 virus. Findings: Fifteen long-term care residents were investigated for SARS-CoV-2 infection. All individuals had a Clinical Frailty scale score ≥5 and were of extreme older age or were centenarians. Six women with a median age of 98.8 years tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Anti-spike IgG antibody titers were the highest titers observed in our cohort with all IgG positive individuals having virus neutralization ability. Additionally, 5 out of the 6 positive participants had a robust IgA anti-SARS-CoV-2 response. In all 5, antibodies were detected after 60 days from initial diagnosis.

Published in EClinicalMedicine

ISSN: 2589-5370 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General)
Website: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/home

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