Evaluation of MERS-CoV neutralizing antibodies in sera using live virus microneutralization assay

Abstract

The microneutralization (MN) assay is a standard and important technique in virology, immunology, and epidemiology. It is a highly specific and sensitive assay for evaluating virus-specific neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) in human and animal sera. It provides the most precise answer to whether or not an individual or animal has antibodies that can neutralize or inhibit the infectivity of a specific virus strain. However, using live virus-based MN assay might require working under high containment facilities especially when dealing with high-risk pathogens such as the Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV). In this chapter, we describe the isolation, amplification, and titration of MERS-CoV, as well as detailed MN assay to measure nAb levels in sera from different mammalian species.