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Rapid response flow cytometric assay for the detection of antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2.

Dennis LapuenteClara MaierPascal IrrgangJulian HübnerAntonia Sophia PeterMarkus HoffmannArmin EnsserKatharina ZieglerThomas H WinklerTorsten BirkholzAndreas E KremerPhilipp SteiningerKlaus KornFrank NeipelKlaus ÜberlaMatthias Tenbusch
Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology (2020)
SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as a previously unknown zoonotic coronavirus that spread worldwide causing a serious pandemic. While reliable nucleic acid-based diagnostic assays were rapidly available, only a limited number of validated serological assays were available in the early phase of the pandemic. Here, we evaluated a novel flow cytometric approach to assess spike-specific antibody responses.HEK 293T cells expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in its natural confirmation on the surface were used to detect specific IgG and IgM antibody responses in patient sera by flow cytometry. A soluble angiotensin-converting-enzyme 2 (ACE-2) variant was developed as external standard to quantify spike-specific antibody responses on different assay platforms. Analyses of 201 pre-COVID-19 sera proved a high assay specificity in comparison to commercially available CLIA and ELISA systems, while also revealing the highest sensitivity in specimens from PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. The external standard allowed robust quantification of antibody responses among different assay platforms. In conclusion, our newly established flow cytometric assay allows sensitive and quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies, which can be easily adopted in different laboratories and does not rely on external supply of assay kits. The flow cytometric assay also provides a blueprint for rapid development of serological tests to other emerging viral infections.
Keyphrases
  • sars cov
  • high throughput
  • respiratory syndrome coronavirus
  • angiotensin converting enzyme
  • loop mediated isothermal amplification
  • nucleic acid
  • flow cytometry
  • angiotensin ii
  • high resolution
  • mass spectrometry