Presence of CoV-2 antibody in vitreous humor after Cov-2 infection

Abstract

PurposeCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a life-threatening disease with largely unknown intraocular pathogenesis. Herein, we determined the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific ribonucleic acid (RNA) and virus-associated antibodies in the vitreous humor of people who have recently recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection. DesignThis cross-sectional study included 33 patients (33 eyes) who have recently recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Vitreous humor and blood serum samples were tested for the SARS-CoV-2 RNA and virus-associated antibodies. ResultsAmong 33 participants, blood serum and vitreous humor were all tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2-specific IgM was detected in 87.88% (29/33) patients in blood serum and 6.10% (2/33) in vitreous humor; SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG was detected in 96.97% (32/33) patient in blood serum and 81.82% (27/33) in vitreous humor. Statistical significance was found for IgM expression between blood serum and vitreous humor (P<0.01), while IgG was not(P=0.11). The days after recovery were statistically longer both in IgM-positive blood serum samples group and IgG-positive vitreous humor samples group compared with negative samples of each group(P<0.01). Additionally, no statistical difference could be detected in antibody expression in vitreous humor between different groups divided on the condition of the risk of blood-retina-barrier(BRB) failure (P=0.49 for IgM; P=0.37 for IgG). ConclusionAfter recovering from COVID-19, no SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in vitreous humor, but anti-CoV-2 IgM was detected in 6.1% and IgG in approximately 80% of vitreous humor samples of participants. We also found that the positivety rate of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in the blood serum and vitreous humor were both correlated with the days after recovery since the infection.