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Vaccines (Basel)
. 2021 Jun 7;9(6):611.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines9060611.
Characterization of Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 and Other Human Pathogenic Coronaviruses Using a Multiplex Bead-Based Immunoassay
Wegene Borena 1 , Janine Kimpel 1 , Melanie Gierer 2 , Annika Rössler 1 , Lydia Riepler 1 , Susanne Oehler 2 , Dorothee von Laer 1 , Markus Miholits 2
Affiliations
- PMID: 34200301
- DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9060611
Abstract
Serological assays that simultaneously detect antibodies to multiple targets of SARS-CoV-2 and to other structurally related coronaviruses provide a holistic picture of antibody response patterns. Well-validated multiplex immunoassays are scarce. Here, we evaluated the performance of an 11-plex serological assay capable of detecting antibodies directed to four antigenic targets of SARS-CoV-2 and to S1 proteins of other human pathogenic coronaviruses. We used 620 well-characterized sera (n = 458 seropositive and n = 110 seronegative for SARS-CoV-2 in the pre-SARS-CoV-2 era and n = 52 seronegative for SARS-CoV-2 in the era of SARS-CoV-2) as positive and negative standards. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, as well as positive and negative predictive values, including a 95% confidence interval. The difference in mean fluorescence intensity (95% CI) was used to assess a potential cross-reaction between antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and the other coronaviruses. The sensitivity (95% CI) of detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to four antigenic targets ranged from 83.4% (76.7-86.7) to 93.7% (91.0-95.7) and the specificity from 98.2% (93.6-99.8) to 100% (96.7-100). We observed no obvious cross-reaction between anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and antibodies to the other coronaviruses except for SARS-CoV-1. The high sensitivity and specificity warrant a reliable utilization of the assay in population-based seroprevalence surveys or vaccine efficacy studies.
Keywords: bead-based immunoassay; cross-reaction; human coronaviruses; multiplex immunoassay.