Objective: To understand the anti-virus adaptive immune response occurring during SARS-Cov-2 infection is necessary to have methods to investigate cellular and humoral components. The goal of this study has been to investigate the utility of a specific spike-DTH test using a coronavirus recombinant protein in COVID-19 patients.
Methods: DTH studies were performed by intradermal injection of a commercial recombinant spike protein from SARS-CoV-2 along with conventional serology studies.
Results: Fifty-one COVID-19 patients were studied showing 84,3% of concordance with spike-DTH and anti-RBD-IgG. Spike-DTH was superior to identify seven more COVID-19 individuals. A high specificity was found with no positive spike DTH reactions in the non-sick individuals. The skin test also showed more stable results over time while specific anti-RBD-IgG decreased gradually. Clinical severity groups also showed a progressive gradient of larger positive spike-DTH.
Conclusion: Specific spike DTH test seems to be an easy method to study cell immune response.
Keywords: COVID-19; Cell response; DTH; Delayed-type hypersensitivity; Humoral response; SARS-cov2; Skin test; T-cell response.
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