Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19

• Published in: Nature medicine Vol. 26; no. 6; pp. 845 - 848
• Main Authors: Long, Quan-Xin, Liu, Bai-Zhong, Deng, Hai-Jun, Wu, Gui-Cheng, Deng, Kun, Chen, Yao-Kai, Liao, Pu, Qiu, Jing-Fu, Lin, Yong, Cai, Xue-Fei, Wang, De-Qiang, Hu, Yuan, Ren, Ji-Hua, Tang, Ni, Xu, Yin-Yin, Yu, Li-Hua, Mo, Zhan, Gong, Fang, Zhang, Xiao-Li, Tian, Wen-Guang, Hu, Li, Zhang, Xian-Xiang, Xiang, Jiang-Lin, Du, Hong-Xin, Liu, Hua-Wen, Lang, Chun-Hui, Luo, Xiao-He, Wu, Shao-Bo, Cui, Xiao-Ping, Zhou, Zheng, Zhu, Man-Man, Wang, Jing, Xue, Cheng-Jun, Li, Xiao-Feng, Wang, Li, Li, Zhi-Jie, Wang, Kun, Niu, Chang-Chun, Yang, Qing-Jun, Tang, Xiao-Jun, Zhang, Yong, Liu, Xia-Mao, Li, Jin-Jing, Zhang, De-Chun, Zhang, Fan, Liu, Ping, Yuan, Jun, Li, Qin, Hu, Jie-Li, Chen, Juan, Huang, Ai-Long
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01.06.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/699; 692/699/255; 692/699/255/2514; Adult; Aged; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antibody Formation - drug effects; Antibody Formation - immunology; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Antiviral drugs; Asymptomatic; Betacoronavirus - genetics; Betacoronavirus - pathogenicity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brief Communication; Cancer Research; Coronavirus Infections - blood; Coronavirus Infections - drug therapy; Coronavirus Infections - immunology; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Immune response; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin M; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Infectious Diseases; Male; Metabolic Diseases; Middle Aged; Molecular Medicine; Neurosciences; Pandemics - prevention & control; Physiological aspects; Pneumonia, Viral - blood; Pneumonia, Viral - drug therapy; Pneumonia, Viral - immunology; Pneumonia, Viral - virology; SARS-CoV-2; Seroconversion; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Viral antibodies; China
• ISSN: 1078-8956; 1546-170X; 1546-170X
• DOI: 10.1038/s41591-020-0897-1

We report acute antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in 285 patients with COVID-19. Within 19 days after symptom onset, 100% of patients tested positive for antiviral immunoglobulin-G (IgG). Seroconversion for IgG and IgM occurred simultaneously or sequentially. Both IgG and IgM titers plateaued within 6 days after seroconversion. Serological testing may be helpful for the diagnosis of suspected patients with negative RT–PCR results and for the identification of asymptomatic infections. A cross-sectional study of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and a longitudinal follow-up study of patients with COVID-19 suggest that SARS-CoV2-specific IgG or IgM seroconversion occurs within 20 days post symptom onset.