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. 2021 Jul 31;10(8):1952.
doi: 10.3390/cells10081952.

Differences in the Concentration of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies Post-COVID-19 Recovery or Post-Vaccination

Andrzej Tretyn  1 , Joanna Szczepanek  2 , Monika Skorupa  1   2 , Joanna Jarkiewicz-Tretyn  3 , Dorota Sandomierz  3 , Joanna Dejewska  1   3 , Karolina Ciechanowska  3 , Aleksander Jarkiewicz-Tretyn  3   4 , Wojciech Koper  5 , Krzysztof Pałgan  6
Affiliations

Differences in the Concentration of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies Post-COVID-19 Recovery or Post-Vaccination

Andrzej Tretyn et al. Cells. .

Abstract

At the end of 2020, population-based vaccination programs with new generation mRNA-based vaccines began almost all over the world. The aim of the study was to evaluate the titer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies against the S1 subunit of the virus's spike protein as a marker of the humoral response in 477 patients and the concentration of interferon-gamma as an indicator of cellular response in 28 individuals. In our studies, we used serological enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. IgG was measured in weeks 2 and 3 after the first dose and 1-5 weeks after the second dose of an mRNA vaccine in seropositive and seronegative individuals as well as in symptomatic and asymptomatic convalescents. High levels of antibodies were observed in 98% of our vaccinated cohort, and the presence of protective T cells was confirmed in the blood samples of all participants. The humoral immune response is diversified and is visible as early as 2-3 weeks after the first dose of the mRNA vaccine. The level of protection increased significantly after the second dose, with the increase being much greater in pre-vaccine healthy subjects and less in convalescents. In the second and third weeks after the second dose, the concentration of IgG antibodies was the highest, and in the following weeks, it decreased gradually. Regular serological measurements on eight subjects show that antibody titers are lower four months after vaccination than before the second dose.

Keywords: COVID-19; Comirnaty; cellular response; humoral response; mRNA vaccine; spike protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparisons of antibody levels between the analyzed patients’ subgroups. Blue indicates the concentration of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in seronegative individuals before vaccination. Individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to receiving the mRNA vaccine dose, as well as for seropositive unvaccinated individuals, are marked in green.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of the mean values of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in relation to age and the distribution of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG concentrations by sex of the study participants.
Figure 3
Figure 3
IgG-anti-SARS-Cov-2 concentrations in the first 4 months after receiving the mRNA vaccine for 8 seronegative individuals.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody titers against S1 protein and interferon-gamma concentrations released after stimulation of Th lymphocytes in 28 individuals (patients who recovered from SARS. vaccinated persons without previous viral infection. and vaccinated SARS-recovered). The red frame marks 3 people who were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus despite vaccination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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