We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBE SCIENTIFIC, LLC

Download Mobile App





New Cell-Free Test Rapidly Detects COVID-19 Neutralizing Antibodies

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 26 Oct 2020
Scientists have developed a new way to quantify whether an individual has neutralizing antibodies that could prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus from infecting cells using a method that is more broadly applicable than those currently available.

Dr. More...
Stephen Smith of Seattle Children's Research Institute (Seattle, WA, USA) developed the new way to test himself after he suspected he had COVID-19 in late February when the testing criteria had yet to be expanded to include individuals with his symptoms that included muscle aches, gastrointestinal distress and sudden loss of smell. The newly developed diagnostic could have a range of potential commercial applications from broad community testing to assessing vaccine responses and screening for convalescent plasmas that have particularly high levels of neutralizing antibodies as a potential treatment.

The novel coronavirus enters cells when the viral spike protein binds to the ACE2 protein on the surface of human cells. Neutralizing antibodies that block this binding are thought to contribute to immunity to the virus in people who recover from COVID-19. Smith applied a technique called immunoprecipitation detected by flow cytometry (IP-FCM) to study the interactions between the proteins and to look for evidence that COVID-19 antibodies were inhibiting the interaction and blocking the virus from binding to cells. Instead of relying on live cells and viruses like other available blood tests, IP-FCM uses recombinant - or lab-made - proteins and instruments commonly available in commercial serological labs.

Using IP-FCM, Smith tested the blood samples from 24 cohort participants. The test showed that 92% of the participants had antibodies to the novel coronavirus at an average of a little over a month post-infection. Results were validated with 30 control samples. Interestingly, when researchers looked at the test results against other data gathered from the cohort, they found that those who mounted a fever had higher levels of antibodies. The research team also plans to retest the samples to see how antibody levels change over time. In addition to exploring opportunities to commercialize the diagnostic, Smith and his team are now using the test to rapidly screen thousands of approved drugs that could potentially interfere with the binding between ACE2 and the spike protein, and potentially identify drugs capable of preventing or treating COVID-19.

“Other tests that provide insight into immunity work by taking antibodies from your blood and mixing them together with a virus and then exposing that mixture to live cells. Three days later they can determine immunity based on whether your blood prevented the viruses from infecting the cells or not,” said Smith. “Our cell-free test can provide that same information overnight.”

“It’s going to be very important to look at people over a longer time period to track their antibody levels and whether or not they get re-infected,” added Smith. “Until we do those studies, we really don’t know how these clinical measures of antibody neutralization relate to susceptibility in the real world.”

Related Links:
Seattle Children's Research Institute


Gold Member
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Sample-To-Answer Test
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Cartridge (CE-IVD)
3-Part Differential Hematology Analyzer
Swelab Alfa Plus Sampler
New
Modular Hemostasis Automation Solution
CN Track
New
Automated Biochemical Analyzer
iBC 900
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.