Get inspired by how Mabtech products have been used to understand the immune response after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. We list examples by application.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic affected us all – burdening societies around the globe. With the pandemic not over yet and additional suffering from long COVID-19, the need for better treatments remains. But we are hopeful, and impressed by the efforts the research community has already achieved to tackle this exceptional challenge.
When the pandemic started, researchers investigated different aspects of the infection, including how our immune system reacts to it. From the adaptive responses to long-term immune memory, Mabtech’s research tools have been used to fill in the gaps when little was known.
How scientists used our tools in COVID-19 research
T cell ELISpot
ELISpot detects secreted analytes directly after secretion from a cell. By using reagents that only stimulate a fraction of the sample cells, the presence of such low-abundant but responding cells can be easily determined with ELISpot.
For T cell stimulation, peptides representing the agent of interest, for example, SARS-CoV-2, can be synthesized from scratch. That makes the assay independent of any protein expression prior to the experiment. Therefore, ELISpot is widely used to identify antigen-specific T cell responses. We have several SARS-CoV-2 peptide pools for different scientific questions. Read more about these and other peptide pools here.
With ELISpot, you're not only confirming the presence of a certain subpopulation but also its functionality – you're measuring secretion. Identifying such a functional T cell response is essential during vaccine development and is typically assessed with an IFN-γ ELISpot.
Publications in which vaccine candidates have been evaluated with ELISpot
- Sahin et al, COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b1 elicits human antibody and TH1 T cell responses, Nature 2020
- Folegatti et al., Safety and immunogenicity of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary report of a phase 1/2, single-blind, randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2020
- Zhu et al., Immunogenicity and safety of a recombinant adenovirus type-5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine in healthy adults aged 18 years or older: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial. Lancet 2020
- Smith et al., Immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine candidate for COVID-19, Nat Commun. 2020
T cell FluoroSpot
FluoroSpot has the same benefits as ELISpot when it comes to finding antigen-specific cells, but with the added ability to analyze several analytes in parallel. For example, FluoroSpot can identify polyfunctional T cells and any changes to their frequency.
Publications where immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection have been characterized with FluoroSpot
- Sandberg et al., SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral and cellular immunity persists through 9 months irrespective of COVID-19 severity at hospitalization, Clin Transl Immunology 2021
- Jergovic et al., T Cell Responses to B.1.1.529 (Omicron) SARS-CoV-2 Variant Induced by COVID-19 Infection and/or mRNA Vaccination Are Largely Preserved, Journal of Immunology 2022
- Tarke et al., Impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on the total CD4+ and CD8+ T cell reactivity in infected or vaccinated individuals, Cell Rep Med. 2021
- Mateus et al., Selective and cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes in unexposed humans, Science 2020
B cell ELISpot and FluoroSpot
ELISpot and FluoroSpot can be tweaked to identify antigen-specific plasma cells. You only need the antigen available in its native form. By including a pre-stimulation step with IL-2 and R848 also B memory cells can be turned into antibody-secreting cells and thus be detected in a B cell ELISpot or FluoroSpot. For further details, we have a packed guide on B cell profiling with ELISpot and FluoroSpot.
Publications on B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccination
- Achiron et al., Humoral immune response in multiple sclerosis patients following PfizerBNT162b2 COVID19 vaccination: Up to 6 months cross-sectional study, J Neroimmunol. 2021
- Sherina et al., Persistence of SARS-CoV-2-specific B and T cell responses in convalescent COVID-19 patients 6–8 months after the infection, Med 2021
- Marcotte et al., Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 up to 15 months after infection, iScience 2022
ELISA
The early response to an infection is characterized by the secretion of cytokines that orchestrate immune cells. Cytokine storms were suggested to explain some of the severe COVID-19 cases. For example, the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 is a marker that correlates with disease severity in COVID-19 patients. ELISA is a straightforward tool to quantify cytokines in solution, that can be used before drawing any correlations between a marker and patient groups.
Publication where IL-6 was quantified in hospitalized patients