Role of IgG against N‑protein of SARS‑CoV2 in COVID19 clinical outcomes

February 10, 2021

Mayank Batra, Runxia Tian, Chongxu Zhang, Emile Clarence, Camila Sofia Sacher, Justin Nestor Miranda, Justin Rafa O. De La Fuente, Megan Mathew, Desmond Green, Sayari Patel, Maria Virginia Perez Bastidas, Sara Haddadi, Mukunthan Murthi, Miguel Santiago Gonzalez, Shweta Kambali, Kayo H. M. Santos, Huda Asif, Farzaneh Modarresi, Mohammad Faghihi, Mehdi Mirsaeidi

Nature Scientific Reports

Antibody dependent enhancement (ADE), a phenomenon where antibodies enhance viral entry and access to host immune cells is a characteristic of SARS-CoV-2. This clinical study consisting of 100 RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients (both ICU and non-ICU patients) shows a possible correlation between IgG targeting the N-protein of SARS-CoV-2 and ADE. There are various SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins (N, S, E and M protein) with different functions and the S protein has been shown to be responsible for disrupting interactions between the viral protein and host receptor. Therefore, the authors carried out serum IgG analysis to accurately and specifically measure IgG targeting the N protein (anti-N protein IgG). Statistical analyses were also carried out to make comparisons between age, gender, comorbidities and how these factors relate to COVID-19 and anti-N protein IgG. Observations of these analyses showed that patients with high risk of admission to the ICU and poorer COVID-19 outcomes had higher levels of anti-N protein IgG. Although little is known about the mechanism of ADE in SARS-CoV-2, the findings of this study suggest that high concentrations of IgG targeting the N-protein of SARS-CoV-2 is related to poor clinical outcomes and can therefore be measured as one of the initial diagnostic factors and used as a factor to study COVID-19 progression.

Batra M, Tian R, Zhang C, et al. Role of IgG against N-protein of SARS-CoV2 in COVID19 clinical outcomes. Sci Rep. 2021; 11(1): 3455.

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