- Published
- 15 June 2022
- Journal article
Human seasonal coronavirus neutralization and COVID‐19 severity
- Authors
- Source
- Journal of Medical Virology
Full text
Abstract
The virus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the global coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, spread rapidly around the world causing high morbidity and mortality. However, there are four known, endemic seasonal coronaviruses in humans (HCoVs), and whether antibodies for these HCoVs play a role in severity of COVID-19 disease has generated a lot of interest. Of these seasonal viruses NL63 is of particular interest as it uses the same cell entry receptor as SARS-CoV-2. We use functional, neutralizing assays to investigate cross-reactive antibodies and their relationship with COVID-19 severity. We analyzed the neutralization of SARS-CoV-2, NL63, HKU1, and 229E in 38 COVID-19 patients and 62 healthcare workers, and a further 182 samples to specifically study the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and NL63. We found that although HCoV neutralization was very common there was little evidence that these antibodies neutralized SARS-CoV-2. Despite no evidence in cross-neutralization, levels of NL63 neutralizing antibodies become elevated after exposure to SARS-CoV-2 through infection or following vaccination.
Cite as
Wells, D., Cantoni, D., Mayora-Neto, M., Genova, C., Sampson, A., Ferrari, M., Carnell, G., Nadesalingam, A., Smith, P., Chan, A., Raddi, G., Castillo-Olivares, J., Baxendale, H., Temperton, N. & Heeney, J. 2022, 'Human seasonal coronavirus neutralization and COVID‐19 severity', Journal of Medical Virology, 94(10), pp. 4820-4829. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.27937