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Publications

Journal Article Epublish

PubMed: 40243564 DOI: 10.3390/ijms26072948

Subgenomic RNA and Limited Cross-Reactive Neutralising Antibodies Point to Potential Improvements in SARS-CoV-2 Clinical Handling.

Int J Mol Sci 26(7)

Authors: Carlos Davina-Nunez, Sonia Perez-Castro, Jorge Julio Cabrera-Alvargonzalez, Elena Gonzalez-Alonso, Sergio Silva-Bea, Miriam Rodriguez-Perez, Maria Del Pilar Figueroa-Lamas, Alexandre Perez-Gonzalez, Victor Del Campo, Almudena Rojas, Joaquin Mendoza, Benito Regueiro-Garcia

Affiliations

  • Microbiology and Infectology Research Group, Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), 36312 Vigo, Spain.
  • Faculty of Biology, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
  • Microbiology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo (CHUVI), SERGAS, 36312 Vigo, Spain.
  • Virology and Pathogenesis Research Group, Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), 36312 Vigo, Spain.
  • Infectious Disease Unit, Internal Medicine Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo (CHUVI), SERGAS, 36312 Vigo, Spain.
  • Preventive Medicine Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo (CHUVI), SERGAS, 36312 Vigo, Spain.
  • VIRCELL S.L, Parque Tecnológico de la Salud, 18016 Granada, Spain.

Abstract

The current clinical management of SARS-CoV-2 disease control and immunity may be not optimal anymore. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of genomic viral RNA is broadly used for diagnosis, even though the virus may still be detectable when it is already non-infectious. Regarding serology, commercial assays mostly still rely on ancestral spike detection despite significant changes in the genetic sequence of the current circulating variants. We followed a group of 105 non-vaccinated individuals, measuring their viral shedding until negativity and antibody response up to six months. The mean viral detection period until a negative RT-PCR result was 2.2 weeks when using subgenomic RNA-E as a detection target, and 5.2 weeks when using genomic RNA as a detection target. Our neutralising antibody results suggest that, when challenged against a variant different from the variant of first exposure, commercial immunoassays are suboptimal at predicting the neutralising capacity of sera. Additionally, anti-Alpha and anti-Delta antibodies showed very low cross-reactivity between variants. This study provides insights into viral shedding and immune response in pre-Omicron variants like Alpha and Delta, which have been understudied in the published literature. These conclusions point to potential improvements in the clinical management of SARS-CoV-2 cases in order to organise vaccination campaigns and select monoclonal antibody treatments.

MeSH

Sars-Cov-2, Vaccines, Antibodies, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Virus Shedding, Immunity, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronavirus, Rna