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. 2021 Sep 20:2021:6590528.
doi: 10.1155/2021/6590528. eCollection 2021.

Temporal Associations of the SARS-CoV-2 NP Antigen and Anti-Spike Total Ig Levels with Laboratory Parameters in a Greek Cohort of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Erasmia Rouka  1 , Ourania S Kotsiou  1   2 , Garyfallia Perlepe  1 , Athanasios Pagonis  1 , Ioannis Pantazopoulos  1 , Konstantinos I Gourgoulianis  1
Affiliations

Temporal Associations of the SARS-CoV-2 NP Antigen and Anti-Spike Total Ig Levels with Laboratory Parameters in a Greek Cohort of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Erasmia Rouka et al. Can Respir J. .

Abstract

Background: The direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the lungs results in increased hospitalization rates of patients with pneumonia. Severe COVID-19 patients often develop ARDS which is associated with poor prognosis. Assessing risk factors for COVID-19 severity is indispensable for implementing and evaluating therapeutic interventions. We investigated the temporal associations between the SARS-CoV-2 antigen (Ag), total Immunoglobulin (Ig) levels, and several laboratory parameters in hospitalized patients with varying degrees of COVID-19 severity.

Methods: The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) and total Ig Spike (S) protein-specific antibodies were determined for each patient with lateral flow assays through repeated sampling every two days. Hematological and biochemical parameters were evaluated at the same time points.

Results: 40 Greek COVID-19 patients (31 males, 9 females) with a median age of 59.50 ± 16.21 years were enrolled in the study. The median time from symptom onset to hospitalization was 8.0 ± 4.19 days. A significant negative correlation was observed between the SARS-CoV-2 Ag and total Ig levels. The temporal correlation patterns of the SARS-CoV-2 NP Ag and anti-S total Ig levels with laboratory markers varied among patients with differing degrees of COVID-19 severity. Severe-critical cases had lower SARS-CoV-2 Ag and increased total Ig levels as compared to mild-moderate cases.

Conclusions: Distinct temporal profiles of the SARS-CoV-2 NP Ag and anti-S total Ig levels may distinguish different groups of COVID-19 severity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatter plot of all Ag-total Ig values. Markers have been set by case ID.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean of NP Ag and anti-S antibody titres over time in mild-moderate and severe-critical cases. TFSO : time from symptom onset (days).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Values of the SARS-CoV-2 Ag (a), total Ig (b), ferritin (c), ALT (d), urea (e), and CRP (f) variables over time, in mild-moderate and severe-critical cases. TFSO : time from symptom onset (days).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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