tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Cell Infect Microbiol
. 2022 Feb 2;12:804175.
doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.804175. eCollection 2022.
Isolation of SARS-CoV-2 in Viral Cell Culture in Immunocompromised Patients With Persistently Positive RT-PCR Results
Abby Sung[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adam L Bailey[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Henry B Stewart[SUP] 1 [/SUP], David McDonald[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Meghan A Wallace[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kate Peacock[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Candace Miller[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kimberly A Reske[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Caroline A O'Neil[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Victoria J Fraser[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michael S Diamond[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Carey-Ann D Burnham[SUP] 2 3 4 [/SUP], Hilary M Babcock[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jennie H Kwon[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Immunocompromised adults can have prolonged acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive RT-PCR results, long after the initial diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to determine if SARS-CoV-2 virus can be recovered in viral cell culture from immunocompromised adults with persistently positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests. We obtained 20 remnant SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive nasopharyngeal swabs from 20 immunocompromised adults with a positive RT-PCR test ≥14 days after the initial positive test. The patients' 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] test samples underwent SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing, and culture with Vero-hACE2-TMPRSS2 cells. Viral RNA and cultivable virus were recovered from the cultured cells after qRT-PCR and plaque assays. Of 20 patients, 10 (50%) had a solid organ transplant and 5 (25%) had a hematologic malignancy. For most patients, RT-PCR Ct values increased over time. There were 2 patients with positive viral cell cultures; one patient had chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with venetoclax and obinutuzumab who had a low viral titer of 27 PFU/mL. The second patient had marginal zone lymphoma treated with bendamustine and rituximab who had a high viral titer of 2 x 10[SUP]6[/SUP] PFU/mL. Most samples collected ≥7 days after an initial positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR had negative viral cell cultures. The 2 patients with positive viral cell cultures had hematologic malignancies treated with chemotherapy and B cell depleting therapy. One patient had a high concentration titer of cultivable virus. Further data are needed to determine risk factors for persistent viral shedding and methods to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission from immunocompromised hosts.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; immunocompromised; laboratory medicine; obinutuzumab; rituximab; viral cell culture.
. 2022 Feb 2;12:804175.
doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.804175. eCollection 2022.
Isolation of SARS-CoV-2 in Viral Cell Culture in Immunocompromised Patients With Persistently Positive RT-PCR Results
Abby Sung[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Adam L Bailey[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Henry B Stewart[SUP] 1 [/SUP], David McDonald[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Meghan A Wallace[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Kate Peacock[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Candace Miller[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Kimberly A Reske[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Caroline A O'Neil[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Victoria J Fraser[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Michael S Diamond[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Carey-Ann D Burnham[SUP] 2 3 4 [/SUP], Hilary M Babcock[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jennie H Kwon[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35186791
- PMCID: PMC8847756
- DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.804175
Abstract
Immunocompromised adults can have prolonged acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive RT-PCR results, long after the initial diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to determine if SARS-CoV-2 virus can be recovered in viral cell culture from immunocompromised adults with persistently positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests. We obtained 20 remnant SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive nasopharyngeal swabs from 20 immunocompromised adults with a positive RT-PCR test ≥14 days after the initial positive test. The patients' 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] test samples underwent SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing, and culture with Vero-hACE2-TMPRSS2 cells. Viral RNA and cultivable virus were recovered from the cultured cells after qRT-PCR and plaque assays. Of 20 patients, 10 (50%) had a solid organ transplant and 5 (25%) had a hematologic malignancy. For most patients, RT-PCR Ct values increased over time. There were 2 patients with positive viral cell cultures; one patient had chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with venetoclax and obinutuzumab who had a low viral titer of 27 PFU/mL. The second patient had marginal zone lymphoma treated with bendamustine and rituximab who had a high viral titer of 2 x 10[SUP]6[/SUP] PFU/mL. Most samples collected ≥7 days after an initial positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR had negative viral cell cultures. The 2 patients with positive viral cell cultures had hematologic malignancies treated with chemotherapy and B cell depleting therapy. One patient had a high concentration titer of cultivable virus. Further data are needed to determine risk factors for persistent viral shedding and methods to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission from immunocompromised hosts.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; immunocompromised; laboratory medicine; obinutuzumab; rituximab; viral cell culture.