scholarly journals Protocol and reagents for pseudotyping lentiviral particles with SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein for neutralization assays

Author(s):  
Katharine H.D. Crawford ◽  
Rachel Eguia ◽  
Adam S. Dingens ◽  
Andrea N. Loes ◽  
Keara D. Malone ◽  
...  

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 enters cells using its Spike protein, which is also the main target of neutralizing antibodies. Therefore, assays to measure how antibodies and sera affect Spike-mediated viral infection are important for studying immunity. Because SARS-CoV-2 is a biosafety-level-3 virus, one way to simplify such assays is to pseudotype biosafety-level-2 viral particles with Spike. Such pseudotyping has now been described for single-cycle lentiviral, retroviral and VSV particles, but the reagents and protocols are not widely available. Here we detail how to effectively pseudotype lentiviral particles with SARS-CoV-2 Spike and infect 293T cells engineered to express the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, ACE2. We also make all the key experimental reagents available in the BEI Resources repository of ATCC and the NIH. Furthermore, we demonstrate how these pseudotyped lentiviral particles can be used to measure the neutralizing activity of human sera or plasma against SARS-CoV-2 in convenient luciferase-based assays, thereby providing a valuable complement to ELISA-based methods that measure antibody binding rather than neutralization.

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine H. D. Crawford ◽  
Rachel Eguia ◽  
Adam S. Dingens ◽  
Andrea N. Loes ◽  
Keara D. Malone ◽  
...  

SARS-CoV-2 enters cells using its Spike protein, which is also the main target of neutralizing antibodies. Therefore, assays to measure how antibodies and sera affect Spike-mediated viral infection are important for studying immunity. Because SARS-CoV-2 is a biosafety-level-3 virus, one way to simplify such assays is to pseudotype biosafety-level-2 viral particles with Spike. Such pseudotyping has now been described for single-cycle lentiviral, retroviral, and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) particles, but the reagents and protocols are not widely available. Here, we detailed how to effectively pseudotype lentiviral particles with SARS-CoV-2 Spike and infect 293T cells engineered to express the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, ACE2. We also made all the key experimental reagents available in the BEI Resources repository of ATCC and the NIH. Furthermore, we demonstrated how these pseudotyped lentiviral particles could be used to measure the neutralizing activity of human sera or plasma against SARS-CoV-2 in convenient luciferase-based assays, thereby providing a valuable complement to ELISA-based methods that measure antibody binding rather than neutralization.


Author(s):  
James Brett Case ◽  
Paul W. Rothlauf ◽  
Rita E. Chen ◽  
Zhuoming Liu ◽  
Haiyan Zhao ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAntibody-based interventions against SARS-CoV-2 could limit morbidity, mortality, and possibly disrupt epidemic transmission. An anticipated correlate of such countermeasures is the level of neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, yet there is no consensus as to which assay should be used for such measurements. Using an infectious molecular clone of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) that expresses eGFP as a marker of infection, we replaced the glycoprotein gene (G) with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (VSV-eGFP-SARS-CoV-2) and developed a high-throughput imaging-based neutralization assay at biosafety level 2. We also developed a focus reduction neutralization test with a clinical isolate of SARS-CoV-2 at biosafety level 3. We compared the neutralizing activities of monoclonal and polyclonal antibody preparations, as well as ACE2-Fc soluble decoy protein in both assays and find an exceptionally high degree of concordance. The two assays will help define correlates of protection for antibody-based countermeasures including therapeutic antibodies, immune γ-globulin or plasma preparations, and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Replication-competent VSV-eGFP-SARS-CoV-2 provides a rapid assay for testing inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 mediated entry that can be performed in 7.5 hours under reduced biosafety containment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Creanga ◽  
Rebecca A. Gillespie ◽  
Brian E. Fisher ◽  
Sarah F. Andrews ◽  
Julia Lederhofer ◽  
...  

AbstractBroadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) have been developed as potential countermeasures for seasonal and pandemic influenza. Deep characterization of these bnAbs and polyclonal sera provides pivotal understanding for influenza immunity and informs effective vaccine design. However, conventional virus neutralization assays require high-containment laboratories and are difficult to standardize and roboticize. Here, we build a panel of engineered influenza viruses carrying a reporter gene to replace an essential viral gene, and develop an assay using the panel for in-depth profiling of neutralizing antibodies. Replication of these viruses is restricted to cells expressing the missing viral gene, allowing it to be manipulated in a biosafety level 2 environment. We generate the neutralization profile of 24 bnAbs using a 55-virus panel encompassing the near-complete diversity of human H1N1 and H3N2, as well as pandemic subtype viruses. Our system offers in-depth profiling of influenza immunity, including the antibodies against the hemagglutinin stem, a major target of universal influenza vaccines.


Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinand Zettl ◽  
Toni Luise Meister ◽  
Tanja Vollmer ◽  
Bastian Fischer ◽  
Jörg Steinmann ◽  
...  

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2, a new member of the genus Betacoronavirus, is a pandemic virus, which has caused numerous fatalities, particularly in the elderly and persons with underlying morbidities. At present, there are no approved vaccines nor antiviral therapies available. The detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies plays a crucial role in the assessment of the immune status of convalescent COVID-19 patients, evaluation of recombinant therapeutic antibodies, and the evaluation of novel vaccines. To detect SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies, classically, a virus-neutralization test has to be performed at biosafety level 3, considerably limiting the general use of this test. In the present work, a biosafety level 1 pseudotype virus assay based on a propagation-incompetent vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has been used to determine the neutralizing antibody titers in convalescent COVID-19 patients. The neutralization titers in serum of two independently analyzed patient cohorts were available within 18 h and correlated well with those obtained with a classical SARS-CoV-2 neutralization test (Pearson correlation coefficients of r = 0.929 and r = 0.939, respectively). Most convalescent COVID-19 patients had only low titers of neutralizing antibodies (ND50 < 320). The sera of convalescent COVID-19 patients also neutralized pseudotype virus displaying the SARS-CoV-1 spike protein on their surface, which is homologous to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. In summary, we report a robust virus-neutralization assay, which can be used at low biosafety level 1 to rapidly quantify SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies in convalescent COVID-19 patients and vaccinated individuals.


1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 43-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Emery ◽  
Pek Lee ◽  
James Garman

Heightened interest in pathogens with the potential for aerosol transmission and for which prevention and medical treatment is not readily available has resulted in a need for more work environments that meet Biosafety Level 3 (BSL 3) criteria. Recognizing that the facility-based criteria for BSL 3 cannot be achieved by some existing laboratories, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) biological safety guidelines provide an option for attaining BSL 3 status through the use of Biosafety Level 2 (BSL 2) facilities and strict adherence to BSL 3 practices (BSL 2/3). Inherent to this provision is a greater emphasis on safe work practices. Since the extent to which this approach is actually used in practice is not known, a nationwide mail survey of medical academic and research institutions was conducted to provide an objective indication of the proportion of BSL 3 operations actually being carried out in the BSL 2/3 mode. The results obtained indicate that 2% of activities designated as BSL 3 in the study population actually achieve this level of protection using the BSL 2/3 approach. The findings quantitatively estimate for the first time the proportion of BSL 3 activities being carried out in this fashion, and can serve as a reference point for future studies to evaluate usage trends. The results also demonstrate the utility of flexible, performance-based health and safety guidelines, as a significant amount of clinical and research work is being accommodated with the BSL 2/3 provision.


mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Su ◽  
Sin Fun Sia ◽  
Aaron J. Schmitz ◽  
Traci L. Bricker ◽  
Tyler N. Starr ◽  
...  

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein is the main target for neutralizing antibodies. These antibodies can be elicited through immunization or passively transferred as therapeutics in the form of convalescent-phase sera or monoclonal antibodies (MAbs).


2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 885-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex W H Chin ◽  
Ranawaka A P M Perera ◽  
Yi Guan ◽  
Peter Halfmann ◽  
Yoshihiro Kawaoka ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Shih Keng Loong ◽  
Boon Teong Teoh ◽  
Jefree Johari ◽  
Chee Sieng Khor ◽  
Juraina Abd-Jamil ◽  
...  

Bacillus anthracisis a bacterial pathogen of major concern. The spores of this bacteria can survive harsh environmental conditions for extended periods and are well recognized as a potential bioterror weapon with significant implications. Accurate and timely identification of thisBacillusspecies in the diagnostic laboratory is essential for disease and public health management. Biosafety Level 3 measures and ciprofloxacin treatment were instituted whenB. anthraciswas suspected from a patient with gangrenous foot. 16S rDNA sequencing was performed to accurately identify the suspected bacterium, due to the superiority of this method to accurately identify clinically isolated bacteria.B. megateriumwas identified as the causative agent and the organism was subsequently treated as a Biosafety Level 2 pathogen.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 601-607
Author(s):  
Slavica Vaselek ◽  
Jorian Prudhomme ◽  
Jitka Myskova ◽  
Tereza Lestinova ◽  
Tatiana Spitzova ◽  
...  

Abstract Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are natural vectors of Leishmania. For the initiation of sand fly experimental infections either Leishmania amastigotes or promastigotes can be used. In order to obtain comparable results, it is necessary to adjust and standardize procedures. During this study, we conducted promastigote- and amastigote-initiated infections of Leishmania infantum Nicolle, 1908 parasites in Phlebotomus (Larroussius) perniciosus Newstead, 1911 in two laboratories with different levels of biosafety protection. Protocol originally designed for a biosafety level 2 facility was modified for biosafety level 3 facility and infection parameters were compared. Particularly, specially designed plastic containers were used for blood feeding; feeders were placed outside the sand fly cage, on the top of the mesh; feeding was performed inside the climatic chamber; separation of engorged females was done in Petri dishes kept on ice; engorged females were kept in the cardboard containers until dissection. All experiments, conducted in both laboratories, resulted in fully developed late stage infections with high number of parasites and colonization of the stomodeal valve. We demonstrated that protocol originally designed for biosafety level 2 facilities can be successfully modified for other biosafety facilities, depending on the special requirements of the individual institution/laboratory.


2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Komar ◽  
Stanley Langevin ◽  
Thomas P. Monath

ABSTRACT A chimeric yellow fever virus/West Nile virus (WNV) was compared to WNV alone as a biosafety level 2 reagent in the plaque reduction neutralization test for determining WNV infection histories. Concordance was 96.3% among 188 avian and equine serum samples. Neutralizing antibody titers were frequently more than twofold lower with the chimera.


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