Plasmodium infection induces cross-reactive antibodies to carbohydrate epitopes on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein.
Sarah LapidusFeimei LiuArnau Casanovas-MassanaYile DaiJohn D HuckCarolina LucasJon KleinRenata B FillerMadison S StrineMouhamad SyAwa B DemeAida Sadikh BadianeBaba DieyeIbrahima Mbaye NdiayeYounous DiedhiouAmadou Moctar MbayeCheikh Tidiane DiagneInés Vigan-WomasAlassane MbengueBacary D SadioMoussa M DiagneAdam J MooreKhadidiatou MangouFatoumata DialloSeynabou D SeneMariama N PouyeRokhaya FayeBabacar DioufNivison NeryFederico CostaMitermayer ReisM Catherine MuenkerDaniel Z HodsonYannick MbargaBen Z KatzJason R AndrewsMelissa CampbellAriktha SrivathsanKathy KamathElisabeth Baum-JonesOusmane FayeAmadou Alpha SallJuan Carlos Quintero VélezMichael CappelloMichael WilsonChoukri Ben-MamounFabrice A SoméRoch K DabiréCarole Else Eboumbou MoukokoJean Bosco OuédraogoYap BoumJohn ShonDaouda NdiayeAdam WisnewskiSunil ParikhAkiko IwasakCraig B WilenAlbert I KoAaron M RingAmy K BeiPublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2021)
Individuals with acute malaria infection generated high levels of antibodies that cross-react with the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. Cross-reactive antibodies specifically recognized the sialic acid moiety on N-linked glycans of the Spike protein and do not neutralize in vitro SARS-CoV-2. Sero-surveillance is critical for monitoring and projecting disease burden and risk during the pandemic; however, routine use of Spike protein-based assays may overestimate SARS-CoV-2 exposure and population-level immunity in malaria-endemic countries.