Characterization of anti-MERS-CoV antibodies against various recombinant structural antigens of MERS-CoV in an imported case in China

Emerg Microbes Infect. 2016 Nov 9;5(11):e113. doi: 10.1038/emi.2016.114.

Abstract

The first imported case of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in China recently occurred, allowing for the characterization of antibody titers in a series of the patient's sera using the following methods based on recombinant viral structural antigens: inactivated MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), recombinant MERS-CoV spike (S, or fragments of S) ELISA, nucleoprotein (NP) ELISA and MERS S pseudovirus particle-based neutralization test (ppNT). A longitudinal profile of the infection showed that seroconversion detected by ELISAs based on the recombinant extracellular domain, S, S1 and receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigens occurred as early as neutralizing antibodies were detected by the ppNT and earlier than antibodies were detected by the inactivated MERS-CoV and N-terminal domain (NTD) ELISAs. Antibodies detected by the NP ELISA occurred last. Strong correlations were found between the S1, RBD and NP ELISAs and the inactivated MERS-CoV ELISA. The S and RBD ELISAs were highly correlated with the commercial S1 ELISA. The S ELISA strongly correlated with the ppNT, although the MERS-CoV, S1, NTD and RBD ELISAs were also significantly correlated with the ppNT (P<0.001).

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / blood*
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood*
  • Antibodies, Viral / immunology
  • Antigens, Viral / immunology*
  • China
  • Coronavirus Infections / immunology
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood
  • Immunoglobulin M / blood
  • Male
  • Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / chemistry
  • Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / immunology*
  • Neutralization Tests
  • Nucleoproteins / immunology
  • Recombinant Proteins / immunology
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / immunology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Antigens, Viral
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • Nucleoproteins
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus