Long-term specific IgG response to SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein in recovered COVID-19 patients

Abstract

This study monitored the long-term immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 infection in patients who had recovered from coronavirus disease (COVID)-19. Anti-nucleocapsid immunoglobulin G (anti-N IgG) titer in serum samples collected at a single (N = 302) or multiple time points (N = 229) 3–12 months after COVID-19 symptom onset or SARS-CoV-2 detection in respiratory specimens was measured by semiquantitative chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. The 531 patients (966 specimens) were classified according to the presence or absence of pneumonia symptoms. Anti N IgG was detected in 87.5% of patients (328/375) at 3 months, 38.6% (93/241) at 6 months, 23.7% (49/207) at 9 months, and 26.6% (38/143) at 12 months. The anti-N IgG seropositivity rate was significantly lower at 6, 9, and 12 months than at 3 months (P < 0.01) and was higher in the pneumonia group than in the non-pneumonia/asymptomatic group at 6 months (P < 0.01), 9 months (P = 0.04), and 12 months (P = 0.04). The rate started to decline 6–12 months after symptom onset. Anti-N IgG sample/cutoff index was positively correlated with age (r = 0.192, P < 0.01) but negatively correlated with interval between symptom onset and blood sampling (r = − 0.567, P < 0.01). These findings can guide vaccine strategies in recovered COVID-19 patients.