Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug;3(3):100158.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcvp.2023.100158. Epub 2023 Jul 1.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody response duration and neutralization following natural infection

Christopher W Dukes  1   2 , Renata Am Rossetti  1 , Jonathan A Hensel  1 , Sebastian Snedal  1 , Christopher L Cubitt  3 , Michael J Schell  2   4 , Martha Abrahamsen  5 , Kimberly Isaacs-Soriano  5 , Kayoko Kennedy  5 , Leslie N Mangual  5 , Junmin Whiting  4 , Veronica Martinez-Brockhus  1 , Jessica Y Islam  2   5 , Julie Rathwell  2   5 , Matthew Beatty  1 , Amy M Hall  1 , Daniel Abate-Daga  1   2 , Anna R Giuliano  2   5 , Shari Pilon-Thomas  1   2
Affiliations

SARS-CoV-2 antibody response duration and neutralization following natural infection

Christopher W Dukes et al. J Clin Virol Plus. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Background: The role of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) neutralizing antibody response from natural infection and vaccination, and the potential determinants of this response are poorly understood. Characterizing this antibody response and the factors associated with neutralization can help inform future prevention efforts and improve clinical outcomes in those infected.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to prospectively evaluate SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels and the neutralizing antibody responses among naturally infected adults and to determine demographic and behavioral factors independently associated with these responses.

Methods: Serum was collected from seropositive individuals at baseline, four-weeks, and three-months following their first study visit to be evaluated for antibody levels. Detection of neutralizing antibodies was performed at baseline. Participant demographic and behavioral information was collected via web questionnaire prior to their first visit.

Results: At baseline, higher antibody levels were associated with better neutralization capacity, with 83% of participants having detectable neutralizing antibodies. We found an age-dependent effect on antibody level and neutralization capacity with participants over 65 years having significantly higher levels. Ethnicity, heart disease, autoimmune disease, and COVID symptoms were associated with higher antibody levels, but not with increased neutralization capacity. Work environment during the pandemic correlated with increased neutralization capacity, while kidney or liver disease and traveling out of state after February 2020 correlated with decreased neutralization capacity, however neither correlated with antibody levels.

Conclusions: Our data show that natural infection by SARS-CoV-2 can induce a humoral response reflected by high antibody levels and neutralization capacity.

Keywords: COVID-19; Neutralizing antibodies; SARS-CoV-2; Serosurvey.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels. a, Antibody levels across each visit for participants who did not receive the vaccine (n = 98). b, Antibody levels on Visit 3 comparing participants who did not receive the vaccine (n = 98) to those who received two doses (n = 41). a, The Geometric mean (95% CI) at Visit 1 (green), 2 (purple) and 3 (blue) are 354.8 (290.9–432.8), 372.1 (290.9–475.9) and 223.8 (182.7–274.3). b, The Geometric mean (95% CI) at 3 months follow-up for non-vaccinated (green) and vaccinated (purple) participants are 223.8 (182.7–274.3) and 9695.3 (7796.2–12,057.1).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Participant antibody levels at baseline compared to antibody neutralization capacity (n = 155). a, Correlation between patient antibody levels at baseline and neutralization capacity (ID50). b, Participant antibody levels at baseline compared to their neutralization status. a, The red line represents the fitted curve obtained using LOESS curve-fitting regression. b, The Geometric mean (95% CI) at baseline for neutralization (green) and non-neutralization (purple) participants are 436.8 (369.4–516.4) and 169 (130.9–218.2).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al., Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, Lancet 395 (10223) (2020. Feb 15) 497–506. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhou P, Yang X-L, Wang X-G, Hu B, Zhang L, Zhang W, et al., A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin, Nature 579 (7798) (2020. Mar) 270–273. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, et al., A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019, N. Engl. J. Med 382 (8) (2020. Feb 20) 727–733. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization, WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard, World Health Organization, 2023, March 16. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from, https://covid19.who.int/.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Covid Data Tracker, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023, March 16. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home.