A High-Throughput Assay for Circulating Antibodies Directed Against the S Protein of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

Abstract

More than 24 million infections with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were confirmed globally by September 2020. While polymerase chain reaction-based assays are used for diagnosis, there is a need for high-throughput, rapid serologic methods. A Luminex binding assay was developed and used to assess simultaneously the presence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-specific antibodies in human serum and plasma. Clear differentiation was achieved between specimens from infected and uninfected subjects, and a wide range of serum/plasma antibody levels was delineated in infected subjects. All 25 specimens from 18 patients with COVID-19 were positive in the assays with both the trimeric spike and the receptor-binding domain proteins. None of the 13 specimens from uninfected subjects displayed antibodies to either antigen. There was a highly statistically significant difference between the antibody levels of COVID-19-infected and -uninfected specimens (P < .0001). This high-throughput antibody assay is accurate, requires only 2.5 hours, and uses 5 ng of antigen per test.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antibodies; antibody assay; coronavirus.