Serological Profile Of Specific Antibodies Against Dominant Antigens Of SARS-CoV-2 In Chilean COVID-19 Patients.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2 and has been a pandemic since March 2020. Currently, the virus has infected more than 50 million people worldwide and more than half a million in Chile. For many coronaviruses, Spike (S) and Nucleocapsid (N) proteins are described as major antigenic molecules, inducing seroconversion and production of neutralizing antibodies. In this work, we evaluated the presence in serum of IgM, IgA and IgG antibodies against N and S proteins of SARS-CoV-2 using western blot, and developed an ELISA test for the qualitative characterization of COVID-19 patients. Patients with an active infection or who have recovered from COVID-19 showed specific immunoblotting patterns for the recombinants S protein and its domains S1 and S2, as well as for the N protein of SARS-CoV-2. Anti-N antibodies were more frequently detected than anti-S or anti-S1-RBD antibodies. People who were never exposed to SARS-CoV-2 did not show reactivity. Finally, indirect ELISA assays using N and S1-RBD proteins, alone or in combination, were established with variable sensitivity and specificity depending on the antigen bound to the solid phase. Overall, Spike showed higher specificity than the nucleocapsid, and comparable sensitivity for both antigens. Both approaches confirmed the seroconversion after infection and allowed us to implement the analysis of antibodies in blood for research purposes in a local facility.