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- Dillner, Joakim, et al.
(author)
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Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and risk of past or future sick leave
- 2021
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The extent that antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 may protect against future virus-associated disease is unknown. We invited all employees (n=15,300) at work at the Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden to participate in a study examining SARS-Cov-2 antibodies in relation to registered sick leave. For consenting 12,928 healthy hospital employees antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 could be determined and compared to participant sick leave records. Subjects with viral serum antibodies were not at excess risk for future sick leave (adjusted odds ratio (OR) controlling for age and sex: 0.85 [95% confidence interval (CI) (0.85 (0.43-1.68)]. By contrast, subjects with antibodies had an excess risk for sick leave in the weeks prior to testing [adjusted OR in multivariate analysis: 3.34 (2.98-3.74)]. Thus, presence of viral antibodies marks past disease and protection against excess risk of future disease. Knowledge of whether exposed subjects have had disease in the past or are at risk for future disease is essential for planning of control measures.Trial registration: First registered on 02/06/20, ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04411576.
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- Havervall, Sebastian, et al.
(author)
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Robust humoral and cellular immune responses and low risk for reinfection at least 8 months following asymptomatic to mild COVID-19
- 2022
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In: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0954-6820 .- 1365-2796. ; 291:1, s. 72-80
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Emerging data support detectable immune responses for months after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and vaccination, but it is not yet established to what degree and for how long protection against reinfection lasts.Methods: We investigated SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral and cellular immune responses more than 8 months post-asymptomatic, mild and severe infection in a cohort of 1884 healthcare workers (HCW) and 51 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Possible protection against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection was analyzed by a weekly 3-month polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening of 252 HCW that had seroconverted 7 months prior to start of screening and 48 HCW that had remained seronegative at multiple time points.Results: All COVID-19 patients and 96% (355/370) of HCW who were anti-spike IgG positive at inclusion remained anti-spike IgG positive at the 8-month follow-up. Circulating SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell responses were detected in 88% (45/51) of COVID-19 patients and in 63% (233/370) of seropositive HCW. The cumulative incidence of PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection was 1% (3/252) among anti-spike IgG positive HCW (0.13 cases per 100 weeks at risk) compared to 23% (11/48) among anti-spike IgG negative HCW (2.78 cases per 100 weeks at risk), resulting in a protective effect of 95.2% (95% CI 81.9%-99.1%).Conclusions: The vast majority of anti-spike IgG positive individuals remain anti-spike IgG positive for at least 8 months regardless of initial COVID-19 disease severity. The presence of anti-spike IgG antibodies is associated with a substantially reduced risk of reinfection up to 9 months following asymptomatic to mild COVID-19.
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3. |
- Havervall, Sebastian, et al.
(author)
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SARS-CoV-2 induces a durable and antigen specific humoral immunity after asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 infection
- 2022
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 17:1, s. e0262169-e0262169
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Current SARS-CoV-2 serological assays generate discrepant results, and the longitudinal characteristics of antibodies targeting various antigens after asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 are yet to be established. This longitudinal cohort study including 1965 healthcare workers, of which 381 participants exhibited antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen at study inclusion, reveal that these antibodies remain detectable in most participants, 96%, at least four months post infection, despite having had no or mild symptoms. Virus neutralization capacity was confirmed by microneutralization assay in 91% of study participants at least four months post infection. Contrary to antibodies targeting the spike protein, antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein were only detected in 80% of previously anti-nucleocapsid IgG positive healthcare workers. Both anti-spike and anti-nucleocapsid IgG levels were significantly higher in previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients four months post infection than in healthcare workers four months post infection (p = 2*10−23 and 2*10−13 respectively). Although the magnitude of humoral response was associated with disease severity, our findings support a durable and functional humoral response after SARS-CoV-2 infection even after no or mild symptoms. We further demonstrate differences in antibody kinetics depending on the antigen, arguing against the use of the nucleocapsid protein as target antigen in population-based SARS-CoV-2 serological surveys
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4. |
- Hober, Sophia, Professor, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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Systematic evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 antigens enables a highly specific and sensitive multiplex serological COVID-19 assay
- 2021
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In: Clinical & Translational Immunology. - : Wiley. - 2050-0068. ; 10:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. The COVID-19 pandemic poses an immense need for accurate, sensitive and high-throughput clinical tests, and serological assays are needed for both overarching epidemiological studies and evaluating vaccines. Here, we present the development and validation of a high-throughput multiplex bead-based serological assay. Methods. More than 100 representations of SARS-CoV-2 proteins were included for initial evaluation, including antigens produced in bacterial and mammalian hosts as well as synthetic peptides. The five best-performing antigens, three representing the spike glycoprotein and two representing the nucleocapsid protein, were further evaluated for detection of IgG antibodies in samples from 331 COVID-19 patients and convalescents, and in 2090 negative controls sampled before 2020. Results. Three antigens were finally selected, represented by a soluble trimeric form and the S1-domain of the spike glycoprotein as well as by the C-terminal domain of the nucleocapsid. The sensitivity for these three antigens individually was found to be 99.7%, 99.1% and 99.7%, and the specificity was found to be 98.1%, 98.7% and 95.7%. The best assay performance was although achieved when utilising two antigens in combination, enabling a sensitivity of up to 99.7% combined with a specificity of 100%. Requiring any two of the three antigens resulted in a sensitivity of 99.7% and a specificity of 99.4%. Conclusion. These observations demonstrate that a serological test based on a combination of several SARS-CoV-2 antigens enables a highly specific and sensitive multiplex serological COVID-19 assay.
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5. |
- Jernbom Falk, August, et al.
(author)
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Autoantibody profiles associated with clinical features in psychotic disorders
- 2021
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In: Translational Psychiatry. - : Springer Nature. - 2158-3188. ; 11:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Autoimmune processes are suspected to play a role in the pathophysiology of psychotic disorders. Better understanding of the associations between auto-immunoglobulin G (IgG) repertoires and clinical features of mental illness could yield novel models of the pathophysiology of psychosis, and markers for biological patient stratification. We undertook cross-sectional detection and quantification of auto-IgGs in peripheral blood plasma of 461 people (39% females) with established psychotic disorder diagnoses. Broad screening of 24 individuals was carried out on group level in eight clinically defined groups using planar protein microarrays containing 42,100 human antigens representing 18,914 proteins. Autoantibodies indicated by broad screening and in the previous literature were measured using a 380-plex bead-based array for autoantibody profiling of all 461 individuals. Associations between autoantibody profiles and dichotomized clinical characteristics were assessed using a stepwise selection procedure. Broad screening and follow-up targeted analyses revealed highly individual autoantibody profiles. Females, and people with family histories of obesity or of psychiatric disorders other than schizophrenia had the highest overall autoantibody counts. People who had experienced subjective thought disorder and/or were treated with clozapine (trend) had the lowest overall counts. Furthermore, six autoantibodies were associated with specific psychopathology symptoms: anti-AP3B2 (persecutory delusions), anti-TDO2 (hallucinations), anti-CRYGN (initial insomnia); anti-APMAP (poor appetite), anti-OLFM1 (above-median cognitive function), and anti-WHAMMP3 (anhedonia and dysphoria). Future studies should clarify whether there are causal biological relationships, and whether autoantibodies could be used as clinical markers to inform diagnostic patient stratification and choice of treatment.
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7. |
- Jernbom Falk, August, 1994-
(author)
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On the analysis of antibody repertoires
- 2023
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The antibody repertoire is the ensemble of antibodies found in an individual at a given time. It displays high heterogeneity between individuals while being both largely temporally stable within an individual and rapidly responsive to immunological challenge. As distinct collections of antibodies within the repertoire contribute to the function and malfunction of the immune system, studying the many aspects of the antibody repertoire can give increased knowledge on antibody-mediated pathogen defense and autoimmune conditions.There are several emergent techniques for assessing different properties of the antibody repertoire as well as determining distinct antibodies of interest in health and disease. The studies presented in this thesis use planar and bead-based arrays to investigate parts of the antibody repertoire consisting of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 proteins in serological studies, as well as autoantibodies against the large collection of antigens in the Human Protein Atlas. Paper I explores the autoantibody repertoires of patients with psychosis using planar arrays of 42 000 antigens followed by targeted bead arrays and identifies associations to specific symptoms. Paper II defines the baseline serological characteristics of a longitudinal cohort using a then recently developed multiplex serological assay and gives an early description of COVID-19 symptomatology. Paper III investigates the four-month persistence and antigen diversity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 following infection. This work is continued in Paper IV which examines the persistence of the humoral and cellular response to infection and their protective effect against reinfection. Paper V connects these parts by exploring the autoantibody repertoire of this longitudinal cohort and identifying new-onset autoantibodies emerging at infection using arrays of human and viral antigens. It associates three new-onset autoantibodies to post-COVID-19 symptoms and demonstrates sequence similarity between human and viral epitopes, which may indicate molecular mimicry.Antibody repertoires are heterogeneous and multifaceted, requiring several methods for full comprehension. The present investigation encompasses the analysis of one facet using antigen arrays and contributes to knowledge on disease-associated autoantibody repertoires as well as the prevalence and persistence of the serological and autoantibody response emerging after viral infection. This work represents a small step towards the goal of understanding the full repertoire complexity. Emergent large-scale techniques combined with the herein described analysis are together poised to identify clinically relevant antigens and advance knowledge on the diversity and heterogeneity of the antibody repertoire.
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9. |
- Kohshour, Mojtaba Oraki, et al.
(author)
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Comparative serum proteomic analysis of a selected protein panel in individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and the impact of genetic risk burden on serum proteomic profiles
- 2022
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In: Translational Psychiatry. - : Springer Nature. - 2158-3188. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) are based on clinical assessments of symptoms. In this pilot study, we applied high-throughput antibody-based protein profiling to serum samples of healthy controls and individuals with SCZ and BD with the aim of identifying differentially expressed proteins in these disorders. Moreover, we explored the influence of polygenic burden for SCZ and BD on the serum levels of these proteins. Serum samples from 113 individuals with SCZ and 125 with BD from the PsyCourse Study and from 44 healthy controls were analyzed by using a set of 155 antibodies in an antibody-based assay targeting a selected panel of 95 proteins. For the cases, genotyping and imputation were conducted for DNA samples and SCZ and BD polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated. Univariate linear and logistic models were used for association analyses. The comparison between SCZ and BD revealed two serum proteins that were significantly elevated in BD after multiple testing adjustment: "complement C9" and "Interleukin 1 Receptor Accessory Protein". Moreover, the first principal component of variance in the proteomics dataset differed significantly between SCZ and BD. After multiple testing correction, SCZ-PRS, BD-PRS, and SCZ-vs-BD-PRS were not significantly associated with the levels of the individual proteins or the values of the proteome principal components indicating no detectable genetic effects. Overall, our findings contribute to the evidence suggesting that the analysis of circulating proteins could lead to the identification of distinctive biomarkers for SCZ and BD. Our investigation warrants replication in large-scale studies to confirm these findings.
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10. |
- Lauren, Ida, et al.
(author)
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Long-term SARS-CoV-2-specific and cross-reactive cellular immune responses correlate with humoral responses, disease severity, and symptomatology
- 2022
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In: Immunity, Inflammation and Disease. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2050-4527. ; 10:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Cellular immune memory responses post coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been difficult to assess due to the risks of contaminating the immune response readout with memory responses stemming from previous exposure to endemic coronaviruses. The work herein presents a large-scale long-term follow-up study investigating the correlation between symptomology and cellular immune responses four to five months post seroconversion based on a unique severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific peptide pool that contains no overlapping peptides with endemic human coronaviruses. Methods: Peptide stimulated memory T cell responses were assessed with dual interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) and interleukin (IL)-2 Fluorospot. Serological analyses were performed using a multiplex antigen bead array. Results: Our work demonstrates that long-term SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell responses feature dual IFN gamma and IL-2 responses, whereas cross-reactive memory T cell responses primarily generate IFN gamma in response to SARS-CoV-2 peptide stimulation. T cell responses correlated to long-term humoral immune responses. Disease severity as well as specific COVID-19 symptoms correlated with the magnitude of the SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell response four to five months post seroconversion. Conclusion: Using a large cohort and a SARS-CoV-2-specific peptide pool we were able to substantiate that initial disease severity and symptoms correlate with the magnitude of the SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell responses.
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