Performance of an interferon-γ release assay-based test for cell-mediated immunity to SARS-CoV-2

Frontiers in Immunology

Immunology

Elina Petersen¹  Ines Schäfer¹  Raphael Twerenbold²  Julian Kottlau³  Silvia Tödter³  Felix R. Stahl⁴  Luís Fonseca Brito⁴  Marc Lütgehetmann⁵  Kathrin Cermann⁵  Martin Aepfelbacher⁵  Anthea Spier⁵ 

[1]Department of Cardiology, University Heart and Vascular Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

[2]Population Health Research Department, University Heart and Vascular Center, Hamburg, Germany

[3]Department of Cardiology, University Heart and Vascular Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

[4]Population Health Research Department, University Heart and Vascular Center, Hamburg, Germany

[5]German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) Partner Site Hamburg–Kiel–Lübeck, Hamburg, Germany

[6]Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

[7]Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

[8]Department of Virus-Host-Interaction, Leibniz Institute of Virology, Hamburg, Germany

[9]Institute of Microbiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

关键词: coronavirus;    COVID-19;    interferon;    interferon gamma release assay;    QuantiFERON;    T cell;    SARS-CoV-2;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fimmu.2023.1069968

 received in 2022-10-17, accepted in 2023-01-31,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

In search for immunological correlates of protection against acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) there is a need for high through-put assays for cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We established an interferon-γ release assay -based test for detection of CMI against SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) or nucleocapsid (NC) peptides. Blood samples obtained from 549 healthy or convalescent individuals were measured for interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production after peptide stimulation using a certified chemiluminescence immunoassay. Test performance was calculated applying cutoff values with the highest Youden indices in receiver-operating-characteristics curve analysis and compared to a commercially available serologic test. Potential confounders and clinical correlates were assessed for all test systems. 522 samples obtained from 378 convalescent in median 298 days after PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and 144 healthy control individuals were included in the final analysis. CMI testing had a sensitivity and specificity of up to 89% and 74% for S peptides and 89% and 91% for NC peptides, respectively. High white blood cell counts correlated negatively with IFN-γ responses but there was no CMI decay in samples obtained up to one year after recovery. Severe clinical symptoms at time of acute infection were associated with higher measures of adaptive immunity and reported hair loss at time of examination. This laboratory-developed test for CMI to SARS-CoV-2 NC peptides exhibits excellent test performance, is suitable for high through-put routine diagnostics, and should be evaluated for clinical outcome prediction in prospective pathogen re-exposure.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Fonseca Brito, Tödter, Kottlau, Cermann, Spier, Petersen, Schäfer, Twerenbold, Aepfelbacher, Lütgehetmann and Stahl