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. 2025 Aug 21;14(8):827.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens14080827.

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Urine of Individuals Vaccinated with Janssen AD26.COV2.S COVID-19 Vaccine

Marina F N Melo  1 , Rômulo C D Lira  1 , Raquel S B Câmara  1 , Isabela A G Pereira  1 , Fernanda F Ramos  1 , Carolina S F Costa  1 , Laura F Amorim  1 , Quezia D Teixeira  2 , Flávio G da Fonseca  3 , Vandack Nobre  1 , Flavia G F Ferreira  4 , Jorge Pinto  4 , Eduardo A F Coelho  1 , Fernanda Ludolf  1   2 , Júlia F M Caporali  1
Affiliations

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Urine of Individuals Vaccinated with Janssen AD26.COV2.S COVID-19 Vaccine

Marina F N Melo et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Urine-based immunoassay is a non-invasive method with demonstrated utility in detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in unvaccinated patients with COVID-19. To evaluate urine's potential for serological surveys in a real-world setting, SARS-CoV-2 serology was performed on urine samples from vaccinated individuals, both with and without prior confirmed COVID-19. (1) Methods: An in-house indirect ELISA was used to measure antibodies against recombinant spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 in urine and paired serum from 149 individuals vaccinated with Janssen AD26.COV2.S, an S protein-based COVID-19 vaccine. (2) Results: Anti-S and anti-N levels were higher in the urine and serum of participants with confirmed prior COVID-19 compared to those without prior infection. Urinary anti-S effectively distinguished vaccinated individuals with (AUC = 0.96) and without (AUC = 0.88) prior infection from negative controls (non-vaccinated, non-previously infected individuals) (p < 0.0001). Among vaccinated participants, urinary anti-S and anti-N identified prior infection, with AUC values of 0.73 (p < 0.0001) and 0.60 (p = 0.03), respectively, being recorded. (3) Conclusions: Findings indicate that urinary anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies reflect AD26.COV2.S vaccination and previous COVID-19. To further advance the methodology, studies with larger sample sizes and a greater diversity of COVID-19 vaccines are required.

Keywords: AD26.COV2.S; COVID-19; ELISA; SARS-CoV-2; immunoassay; urine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of antibody detection against each recombinant protein, in urine and serum, among groups. G0: unvaccinated without prior infection. G1: vaccinated without prior infection. G2: vaccinated with prior infection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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