Abstract
BackgroundShort-term antibody response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been shown previously. The further development remains to be determined.MethodsWe prospectively followed 29 coronavirus disease 2019 cases, mean age 44 ± 13.2 years. Except for one participant in whom rheumatoid arthritis existed, all other cases were previously healthy. We determined anti-viral binding antibodies at 2–10 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after disease onset as well as neutralizing antibodies (NAb) against wild type at 6 and 12 months and the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants at month 12. Three binding antibody assays were used, targeting the nucleocapsid protein (NCP), the S1 subunit of the spike protein, and the receptor binding domain (RBD).ResultsAntibodies to the RBD persisted for 12 months in all cases with increasing concentrations, whereas antibodies to S1 dropped below cut-off point in 7 participants and NCP antibodies were above cut-off point in only 5 subjects at month 12. The NAb against wild type were detected in all but 2 samples at 12 months of follow-up but clearly less frequently when targeting the variants. In 5 participants who were vaccinated against COVID-19 there was a strong increase of antibodies against S1 and RBD as well as an increase of NAb titres against wild type and the variants.ConclusionThere was a persisting antibody response against SARS-CoV‑2 up to 12 months after COVID-19 with declining concentrations except for RBD and a strong increase of all antibody concentrations after vaccination.Supplementary InformationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00508-021-01985-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) leads to an acute immune response transforming into immune memory protecting from infection in previously infected or vaccinated persons [1]
Binding SARSCoV-2 antibodies were determined at all time points and neutralizing antibodies against the wild type (Wuhan) were done in all samples at T3 and T4
Depending on the antigen we found a persistent antiSARS-COV-2 antibody response over 12 months after infection with a preference for the receptor binding domain (RBD) and to a lesser degree for the entire S1 subunit of the spike protein
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) leads to an acute immune response transforming into immune memory protecting from infection in previously infected or vaccinated persons [1]. Surrogates are commonly used mostly by measurement of agent-specific antibodies as a component of immune memory [2]. The short-term antibody response has been shown in COVID-19 cases in several reports [3, 4]; [5,6,7,8,9], and in few long-term observations up to 12 months [10]. We present the 12-month follow-up SARS-CoV-2 antibody results in a longitudinal prospective Tyrolean cohort which was the primary goal of the study. We present pre-vaccine versus post-vaccine SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in a subset of 5 study subjects
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