Detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in immunoglobulin products

K Cousins, K Sano, B Lam, K Röltgen… - The Journal of Allergy …, 2023 - Elsevier
K Cousins, K Sano, B Lam, K Röltgen, D Bhavsar, G Singh, O McRae, S Jeong
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 2023Elsevier
Background For patients with primary antibody deficiency, the first line of therapy is
replacement with immunoglobulin (Ig) products. Prior to the severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, Ig products did not contain antibodies
with specificity for this virus, and there have been limited data on the antibodies present in
the Ig products in current use. Objective To quantitatively examine SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
in current Ig products. Methods We examined 142 unique lots of 11 different Ig products …
Background
For patients with primary antibody deficiency, the first line of therapy is replacement with immunoglobulin (Ig) products. Prior to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, Ig products did not contain antibodies with specificity for this virus, and there have been limited data on the antibodies present in the Ig products in current use.
Objective
To quantitatively examine SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in current Ig products.
Methods
We examined 142 unique lots of 11 different Ig products intended for intravenous and/or subcutaneous delivery for IgG-binding activities against recombinant SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain, spike, and nucleocapsid proteins by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. In addition, to assess functionality, 48 of these unique lots were assessed for their ability to inhibit the variants SARS-CoV-2 Ancestral, Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron spike binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).
Results
Significantly increased antibody values were observed for products manufactured after the year 2020 (expiration dates 2023–2024), as compared with Ig products before 2020 (prepandemic). Sixty percent and 85% of the Ig products with expiration dates of 2023 and 2024 were positive for antibody to SARS-CoV-2 proteins, respectively. The area under the curve values were significantly higher in products with later expiration dates. Later dates of expiration were also strongly correlated with inhibition of ACE2-binding activity; however, a decline in inhibition activity was observed with later variants.
Conclusions
Overall, more recent Ig products (expiration dates 2023–2025) contained significantly higher binding and inhibition activities against SARS-CoV-2 proteins, compared with earlier, or prepandemic products. Normal donor SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are capable of inhibiting ACE2-binding activities and may provide a therapeutic benefit for patients who do not make a robust vaccine response.
Elsevier