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. 2021 Aug;49(4):739-746.
doi: 10.1007/s15010-021-01598-6. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

SARS-CoV-2-directed antibodies persist for more than six months in a cohort with mild to moderate COVID-19

Vivian Glück  1 , Sonja Grobecker  1 , Leonid Tydykov  1 , Bernd Salzberger  2 , Thomas Glück  3 , Tanja Weidlich  3 , Manuela Bertok  3 , Christine Gottwald  3 , Jürgen J Wenzel  1 , André Gessner  1   4 , Barbara Schmidt  1   4 , David Peterhoff  5
Affiliations
Free PMC article

SARS-CoV-2-directed antibodies persist for more than six months in a cohort with mild to moderate COVID-19

Vivian Glück et al. Infection. 2021 Aug.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Objective: To follow serological immune responses of front-line healthcare workers after PCR-confirmed COVID-19 for a mean of 30 weeks, describe the time-course of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-specific IgG, IgA and IgM levels and to identify associations of the immune response with symptoms, demographic parameters and severity of disease.

Methods: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S protein-specific IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies were measured at three time points during the 30-week follow-up. COVID-19-specific symptoms were assessed with standardized questionnaires.

Results: 95% of the participants mounted an IgG response with only modest decline after week 12. IgG-type antibodies were still detectable in almost 90% of the subjects at 30 weeks. IgA and IgM responses were less robust and antibody titers decreased more rapidly. At 30 weeks, only 25% still had detectable IgA-type and none had IgM-type antibodies. Higher age and higher disease severity were independently associated with higher IgG antibody levels, albeit with wide variations.

Conclusion: Serological immune responses after COVID-19 show considerable inter-individual variability, but show an association with increasing age and higher severity of disease. IgG-type anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies remain positive in 90% of the individuals 30 weeks after onset of symptoms.

Keywords: Antibody titer; COVID-19; ELISA; SARS-CoV-2; Serological immune response; Severity of disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Time course of anti-SARS-CoV-2 S protein (RBD) directed antibody reactivities over 30 weeks. a IgG, b IgA and c IgM. Detailed information is provided in Table S1
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Relative differences of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody titers between third and first samples. a IgG, b IgA and c IgM
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Correlation of age and mean anti-SARS-CoV-2 S protein-directed IgG antibody levels (r = 0.260; p = 0.004; regression line [solid] and 95% confidence interval [dotted] are given in red)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Course of anti-SARS-CoV-2 S protein-directed IgG antibody titers over time according to severity of symptoms. a mild, b moderate and c severe symptoms. General trend line is shown in red and was calculated using the LOWESS algorithm
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