scholarly journals COVID-19 serological survey using micro blood sampling

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa M. Matthews ◽  
Tae Gyun Kim ◽  
Satoshi Shibata ◽  
Noriko Shibata ◽  
Christian Butcher ◽  
...  

AbstractDuring August 2020, we carried out a serological survey among students and employees at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Japan, testing for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. We used a FDA-authorized 2-step ELISA protocol in combination with at-home self-collection of blood samples using a custom low-cost finger prick-based capillary blood collection kit. Although our survey did not find any COVID-19 seropositive individuals among the OIST cohort, it reliably detected all positive control samples obtained from a local hospital and excluded all negatives controls. We found that high serum antibody titers can persist for more than 9 months post infection. Among our controls, we found strong cross-reactivity of antibodies in samples from a serum pool from two MERS patients in the anti-SARS-CoV-2-S ELISA. Here we show that a centralized ELISA in combination with patient-based capillary blood collection using as little as one drop of blood can reliably assess the seroprevalence among communities. Anonymous sample tracking and an integrated website created a stream-lined procedure. Major parts of the workflow were automated on a liquid handler, demonstrating scalability. We anticipate this concept to serve as a prototype for reliable serological testing among larger populations.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa M. Matthews ◽  
Tae Gyun Kim ◽  
Satoshi Shibata ◽  
Noriko Shibata ◽  
Christian Butcher ◽  
...  

AbstractDuring August 2020, we carried out a serological survey among students and employees at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Japan, testing for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. We used a FDA-authorized 2-step ELISA protocol developed by the Krammer Lab (1, 2) in combination with at-home self-collection of blood samples using a custom low-cost finger prick-based capillary blood collection kit. Although our survey did not find any COVID-19 seropositive individuals among the OIST cohort, it reliably detected all positive control samples obtained from a local hospital and excluded all negatives controls. Among our controls, we found strong cross-reactivity of antibodies in samples from a serum pool from two MERS patients in the anti-SARS-CoV-2-S ELISA. Here we show that a centralized ELISA in combination with patient-based capillary blood collection using as little as one drop of blood can reliably assess the seroprevalence among communities. Anonymous sample tracking and an integrated website created a stream-lined procedure. Major parts of the workflow were automated on a liquid handler, demonstrating scalability. We anticipate this concept to serve as a prototype for reliable serological testing among larger populations.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-213
Author(s):  
Jean F. Kenny ◽  
Mary I. Boesman ◽  
Richard H. Michaels

Stools of newborn breast-fed infants may contain significant amounts of hemagglutinating antibody to enteropathogenic E. coli and neutralizing antibody to polioviruses. Stool titers averaged only fourfold lower than maternal milk titers for antibacterial and less than twofold lower for antiviral activity. Similar ratios of stool:milk activity were also found for paired specimens obtained during the second and third postpartum months. The stool antibodies were stable at 56°C and exhibited definite specificity. Bacterial hemagglutinins in feces were more sensitive to mercaptoethanol than the poliovirus neutralizing activity. Stools from breast-fed infants contained gamma-1 globulins similar to those in milk, including IgA and small amounts of IgM. Meconium from bottle-fed infants with high serum antibody titers to polioviruses contained traces of homotypic neutralizing antibody. Antiviral and antibacterial activity were not detected in transitional and later stools from artificially fed infants, nor were human immune globulins. Milk bacterial hemagglutinating antibodies were more resistant to acid and to pepsin than those in serum. Furthermore, acid had a less deleterious effect on virus neutralizing activity in milk than it had on that in serum, and it also had less effect on the milk antiviral than on the milk antibacterial antibodies.


1980 ◽  
Vol 89 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 117-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Branefors ◽  
T. Dahlberg ◽  
O. Nylén

A series of episodes of acute otitis media were studied with reference to the bacterial findings in the nasopharynx and the specific antibody response in a group of children nine months to ten years of age, with previous frequent episodes of acute otitis media, Serum IgG, IgM and IgA antibody levels against five polysaccharide antigens, namely Haemophilus influenzae type b and Streptococcus pneumoniae types 3, 6, 19 and 23, were studied by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The selection of polysaccharide antigens was based on isolation frequency. The sera to be tested were tenfold serially diluted. An extinction of 0.2 over the base was taken as the end-point titer and expressed as in-log10. The results showed that most children including those under three years of age showed increasing homologous antibody titers at an infection, or had already initially very high antibody titers, especially of the IgG class. The titers reached levels of 104 to 105. In some cases, however, it could be shown that high serum antibody titers did not give protection against a new infection with the same serological type of bacteria. It was also demonstrated that most children, regardless of age, had IgG and IgM titers against the heterologous antigens. In some cases the levels were quite high (103 to 104). However, the IgA antibody levels were lower and in a considerable number of samples antibodies were not even detectable.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice R. Ciacci Zanella ◽  
Amy L. Vincent ◽  
Eraldo L. Zanella ◽  
Alessio Lorusso ◽  
Crystal L. Loving ◽  
...  

Influenza A viruses cause acute respiratory disease in swine. Viruses with H1 hemagglutinin genes from the human seasonal lineage (-cluster) have been isolated from North American swine since 2003. The objective of this work was to study the pathogenesis and transmission of -cluster H1 influenza viruses in swine, comparing three isolates from different phylogenetic subclusters, geographic locations, and years of isolation. Two isolates from the 2 subcluster, A/sw/MN/07002083/07 H1N1 (MN07) and A/sw/IL/00685/05 H1N1 (IL05), and A/sw/TX/01976/08 H1N2 (TX08) from the 1 sub-cluster were evaluated. All isolates caused disease and were transmitted to contact pigs. Respiratory disease was apparent in pigs infected with MN07 and IL05 viruses; however, clinical signs and lung lesions were reduced in severity as compared to TX08. On day 5 following infection MN07-infected pigs had lower virus titers than the TX08 pigs, suggesting that although this H1N1 was successfully transmitted, it may not replicate as efficiently in the upper or lower respiratory tract. MN07 and IL05 H1N1 induced higher serum antibody titers than TX08. Greater serological cross-reactivity was observed for viruses from the same HA phylogenetic sub-cluster; however, antigenic differences between the sub-clusters may have implications for disease control strategies for pigs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2723
Author(s):  
Linhua Tian ◽  
Elzafir B. Elsheikh ◽  
Paul N. Patrone ◽  
Anthony J. Kearsley ◽  
Adolfas K. Gaigalas ◽  
...  

Quantitative and robust serology assays are critical measurements underpinning global COVID-19 response to diagnostic, surveillance, and vaccine development. Here, we report a proof-of-concept approach for the development of quantitative, multiplexed flow cytometry-based serological and neutralization assays. The serology assays test the IgG and IgM against both the full-length spike antigens and the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike antigen. Benchmarking against an RBD-specific SARS-CoV IgG reference standard, the anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD antibody titer was quantified in the range of 37.6 µg/mL to 31.0 ng/mL. The quantitative assays are highly specific with no correlative cross-reactivity with the spike proteins of MERS, SARS1, OC43 and HKU1 viruses. We further demonstrated good correlation between anti-RBD antibody titers and neutralizing antibody titers. The suite of serology and neutralization assays help to improve measurement confidence and are complementary and foundational for clinical and epidemiologic studies.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 500
Author(s):  
Yoshikazu Honda-Okubo ◽  
Jeremy Baldwin ◽  
Nikolai Petrovsky

Global immunization campaigns have resulted in a major decline in the global incidence of polio cases, with wild-type poliovirus remaining endemic in only two countries. Live oral polio vaccine (OPV) played a role in the reduction in polio case numbers; however, the risk of OPV developing into circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus makes it unsuitable for eradication programs. Trivalent inactivated polio virus (TIPV) vaccines which contain formalin-inactivated antigens produced from virulent types 1, 2 and 3 reference polio strains grown in Vero monkey kidney cells have been advocated as a replacement for OPV; however, TIPVs have weak immunogenicity and multiple boosts are required before peak neutralizing titers are reached. This study examined whether the incorporation of the novel polysaccharide adjuvant, Advax-CpG, could boost the immunogenicity of two TIPV vaccines, (i) a commercially available polio vaccine (IPOL®, Sanofi Pasteur) and (ii) a new TIPV formulation developed by Statens Serum Institut (SSI). Mice were immunized intramuscularly based on recommended vaccine dosage schedules and serum antibody titers were followed for 12 months post-immunization. Advax-CpG significantly enhanced the long-term immunogenicity of both TIPV vaccines and had at least a 10-fold antigen dose-sparing effect. An exception was the poor ability of the SSI TIPV to induce serotype type 1 neutralizing antibodies. Immunization with monovalent IPVs suggested that the low type 1 response to TIPV may be due to antigen competition when the type 1 antigen was co-formulated with the type 2 and 3 antigens. This study provides valuable insights into the complexity of the formulation of multivalent polio vaccines and supports the further development of adjuvanted antigen-sparing TIPV vaccines in the fight to eradicate polio.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-15
Author(s):  
T. Tochio ◽  
Y. Kadota ◽  
Y. Asami ◽  
R. Azuma ◽  
R. Oishi ◽  
...  

1-Kestose is a trisaccharide prebiotic that modifies immune responses in humans and rodents with allergic diseases by altering the intestinal microbiota. In the present study, we examined the effects of 1-kestose supplementation on the intestinal microbiota, peripheral lymphocyte subsets, and antibody production in healthy dogs. Fecal IgA levels and serum antibody titers against the rabies vaccine were not significantly affected by 1-kestose supplementation. In a flow cytometric analysis, the percentage of T cells among total lymphocytes decreased, whereas that of B cells increased in supplemented dogs. A metagenomic analysis of the intestinal microbiota showed that the proportion of Bifidobacterium increased, while that of Lactobacillus did not decrease in supplemented dogs. Furthermore, a quantification analysis using real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that the proportion of Bifidobacterium increased in supplemented dogs. These results suggest that 1-kestose supplementation induced modifications in the intestinal microbiota of dogs, which presumably enhanced the immune system. 1-Kestose may be a useful food material as a prebiotic for dogs.


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