Infection with the novel pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus has been shown to elicit a cross-reactive immune response that could lead to a back-boost of memory recall to previously encountered seasonal (endemic) coronaviruses (eCoVs). Whether this response is associated with a fatal clinical outcome in patients with severe COVID-19 remains unclear. In a cohort of hospitalized patients, we have previously shown that heterologous immune responses to eCoVs can be detected in severe COVID-19. Here, we report that COVID-19 patients with fatal disease have decreased SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody titers at hospital admission, which correlated with lower SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific IgG and was paralleled by a relative abundance of IgG against spike protein of eCoVs of the genus Betacoronavirus. Additional research is needed to assess if eCoV-specific back-boosted IgG is a bystander phenomenon in severe COVID-19, or a factor that influences the development of an efficient anti-viral immune response.
CITATION STYLE
Smit, W. L., van Tol, S., Haas, L. E. M., Limonard, G. J. M., Bossink, A., Reusken, C., … Thijsen, S. F. T. (2023). Differential abundance of IgG antibodies against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal coronaviruses in patients with fatal COVID-19. Virology Journal, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-023-02050-x
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