Investigation of Durability of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and IgM Antibodies in  Recovered COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Study

Mohammad  Zamani; Ahmad  Ghasemi; Morteza  Shamshirgaran; Sajjad Ahmadpour; Ahmad  Hormati; Javad  Khodadadi; Mehran  Varnasseri; Fatemeh  Amini; Amaneh  Shayanrad; Vahid  Younesi; Hossein  Poustchi; Mahdi  Shabani

doi:10.18502/ajmb.v14i3.9830

Mohammad Zamani Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ahmad Ghasemi Healthy Ageing Research Centre, Neyshabur Faculty of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University Medical Sciences,Neyshabur, Iran
Morteza Shamshirgaran Healthy Ageing Research Centre, Neyshabur Faculty of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University Medical Sciences,Neyshabur, Iran
Sajjad Ahmadpour Gastroenterology and Hepatology Diseases Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
Ahmad Hormati Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Javad Khodadadi Infectious Disease Department, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
Mehran Varnasseri Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Fatemeh Amini Department of Persian Medicine, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Amaneh Shayanrad Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Shariati Hospital,Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Vahid Younesi Synapse IVD Accelerator, Tehran, Iran
Hossein Poustchi Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Shariati Hospital,Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mahdi Shabani Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ajmb.v14i3.9830

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS‐CoV‐2, Seroconversion, Seropositivity

Abstract

Background: Evidence on seroconversion profile of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected patients is limited. We mainly aimed to evaluate seroconversion and persistence of virus-specific antibodies in patients infected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 118 patients with COVID-19 presentations admitted to three hospitals in Iran and recovered from the disease, during April and May 2020. Presence of COVID-19 was confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing on nasopharyngeal swabs. Serum samples were collected at different time points, including 0-5, 6-15, 16-25, 26-35, and 36-95 days of clinical symptom onset. For measurement of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and IgM antibody titers, Iran's Food and Drug Administration-approved SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kits were used.

Results: Serologic assay revealed that 37.3% of patients (n=44) were positive for IgM at 0-5 days interval after clinical symptom onset. This rate was 60.2% (n=71) for IgG. There were increasing IgM and IgG seroconversion rates during first 25 days of clinical symptom onset, but seropositivity started to decrease thereafter, which was more evident for IgM (17.9%) than IgG (58.9%) at the 36-95 days post symptoms appearance. In other words, it was found that 83.6% of IgM-positive and 32.9% of IgG-positive patients in the first month of clinical symptom onset became seronegative in the third month of clinical symptom onset.

Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection were developed in recovered COVID-19 patients; however, some of them were seronegative three months after onset of relevant symptoms. Furthermore, the stability of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies could also correct our expectations from COVID-19 vaccination responses.