Cited by 352SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchCOVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesSARS-CoV-2 detection and testing

Distinct Early Serological Signatures Track with SARS-CoV-2 Survival

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Atyeo, Caroline, Fischinger, Stephanie, Zohar, Tomer, Slein, Matthew D., Burke, John, Loos, Carolin, McCulloch, Denise J., Newman, Kira L. +16 more·2020·Immunity

Abstract

As SARS-CoV-2 infections and death counts continue to rise, it remains unclear why some individuals recover from infection, whereas others rapidly progress and die. Although the immunological mechanisms that underlie different clinical trajectories remain poorly defined, pathogen-specific antibodies often point to immunological mechanisms of protection. Here, we profiled SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral responses in a cohort of 22 hospitalized individuals. Despite inter-individual heterogeneity, distinct antibody signatures resolved individuals with different outcomes. Although no differences in SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG levels were observed, spike-specific humoral responses were enriched among convalescent individuals, whereas functional antibody responses to the nucleocapsid were elevated in deceased individuals. Furthermore, this enriched immunodominant spike-specific antibody profile in convalescents was confirmed in a larger validation cohort. These results demonstrate that early antigen-specific and qualitative features of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies point to differences in disease trajectory, highlighting the potential importance of functional antigen-specific humoral immunity to guide patient care and vaccine development.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.07.020

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  • Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, early broadly functional antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were associated with survival.

    “In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, the early presence of broadly functional antibodies directed at the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein (see also Box 1) correlated with survival25”
  • Non-neutralizing antibodies may protect through Fc-mediated functions such as phagocytosis, cellular cytotoxicity, and natural killer cell activation.

    “Non-NAbs can also have an important role in protection, however, via Fc-mediated effector functions including antibody-dependent phagocytosis, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent natural killer cell activation10,25,31.”
  • A bias toward nucleocapsid antibodies over Spike antibodies in fatal cases is consistent with a role for Spike antibodies in reducing viral loads.

    “A bias toward nucleocapsid antibodies over Spike antibodies in fatal cases was observed in a pair of studies (Atyeo et al., 2020; Zohar et al., 2020), which is consistent with a role for Spike antibodies in reducing viral loads.”

    From Adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 (2021) · cites this paper as Atyeo et al., 2020

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Authors
Atyeo, C., Fischinger, S., Zohar, T., Slein, M. D., Burke, J., Loos, C., McCulloch, D. J., Newman, K. L., Wolf, C., Yu, J., Shuey, K., Feldman, J., Hauser, B. M., Caradonna, T., Schmidt, A. G., Suscovich, T. J., Linde, C., Cai, Y., Barouch, D., Ryan, E. T., Charles, R. C., Lauffenburger, D., Chu, H., & Alter, G.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard (US)
  • University of Washington (US)
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
  • Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Corresponding author
  • Chu, Helen
  • Alter, Galit
Venue
Immunity
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-09
Volume
53
Issue
3
Pages
524-532.e4
ISSN
1074-7613 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3045933491
Cited by
349
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 69 · 2021: 138 · 2020: 44
FWCI
9.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Immunity (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Universitätsbibliographie, Universität Duisburg-Essen (submittedVersion)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 pandemic, humoral immunity, spike-specific antibodies, nucleocapsid antibodies, disease outcome prediction, convalescence, hospitalized patients, immunodominant epitopes
MeSH terms
Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antibodies, Viral, Female, Humans, Immunoglobulin G, Male, Middle Aged, Phosphoproteins, Pneumonia, Viral, Coronavirus Infections, Nucleocapsid Proteins, Immunity, Humoral, Pandemics, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus

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