Detection of SARS-CoV-2 and Its Immune Response: History
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Subjects: Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Contributor:
Nayeli Shantal Castrejón-Jiménez
,
Blanca Estela García-Pérez
,
Nydia Edith Reyes-Rodríguez
,
Vicente Vega-Sánchez
,
Víctor Manuel Martínez-Juárez
,
Juan Carlos Hernández-González

Coronaviruses are a large family of well-established pathogens of various hosts, including domestic animals, wild animals, and humans.

  • lateral flow immunoassay
  • biosensors
  • COVID-19

1. SARS-CoV-2 Overview

Coronaviruses are a large family of well-established pathogens of various hosts, including domestic animals, wild animals, and humans [1]. Viruses that caused previous outbreaks in humans, causing severe respiratory illness, lung injury, and death, are SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus) in 2003 and MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) in 2012 [2]. Recent genome analysis with various bioinformatics tools demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 has a highly similar genome as the Bat coronavirus and receptor-binding domain (RBD) of spike glycoprotein as Malayan pangolin coronavirus [3]. This evidence indicates that the horseshoe bat is the natural reservoir, and primary evidence suggests that the Malayan pangolin is an intermediate host [3].
SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA. The genome size of this pathogen varies from 29.8 kb to 29.9 kb [4]. The virus encodes at least 29 proteins. The structural proteins are spike (S), membrane (M), envelope (E), and nucleocapsid (NP) proteins [5]. The non-structural proteins (nsps) have functions required for replication and transcription in the virus life cycle [6]. The viral particle size ranges from 80 to 120 nm [7].
The mechanism of viral infection in humans is through droplets and aerosols, which can travel through the air [8]. Infection occurs in cells that express ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) and TMPRSS2 (transmembrane serine protease 2) [9]. The coronavirus S protein binds to the ACE2, the primary receptor for SARS-CoV-2 that mediates virus entry into cells, and TMPRSS2 cleaves the S protein (into S1 and S2 subunits) of SARS-CoV-2 facilitating the fusion of SARS-CoV-2 and cellular membrane [9][10][11]. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the endosomal cysteine proteases cathepsin B and cathepsin L can also contribute to this process [10][12][13]. In the respiratory tract, ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are expressed in the secretory and ciliated cells in the nose, secretory and ciliated cells in the conductive airways, in the type II alveolar cells in the lung as well as in corneal conjunctiva in the eye [14][15][16][17].
The etiological virus of the pandemic has continuously evolved, with many variants emerging worldwide. Variants are categorized as the variant of interest, variant of concern, and variant under monitoring [18]. There are five SARS-CoV-2 lineages designated as the variant of concern alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and omicron variants [19]. These variants increase transmissibility compared to the original virus and potentially increase disease severity [20].

2. Immune Response against SARS-CoV-2 in Brief

The SARS-CoV-2 infection involves diverse stages in the individual: start of infection, disease development, recovery, or systemic compromise. Each infection stage triggers and modulates innate and adaptative immune system mechanisms. Although SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that humanity is learning about, the immune response is equipped with mechanisms capable of dealing with this new threat. In the initial phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the individual presents a presymptomatic phase lasting up to 5 days, in which a high viral load is present [21]. In these early days of infection, antibodies may not have been produced. Therefore, innate immunity is the first activated. The innate immune response comprises soluble and cellular components that respond nonspecifically against the virus. The cellular compounds include dendritic cells (DC), monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, natural killer (NK) cells, and other innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) [22]. Whereas soluble components include complement systems, soluble proteins, interferons, chemokines, and naturally occurring antibodies [23]. Immune response cells recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of SARS-CoV-2 through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as Toll-like receptors (TLR), RIG-I-like receptors (RLR), and melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5). The viral sensing triggers the activation of signaling pathways which induce the production of immune mediators to generate an antiviral state mainly mediated by type I (IFN-α/β) and type III (IFN-λ) interferons (IFNs) [24]. Reports have described that robust IFNs production during the early stage of infection is required to have a protective innate immune response against the virus [25]. On the contrary, an inadequate and slow response to type I and type III IFNs due to virus evasion mechanisms, host comorbidities, or genetic defects cause an exacerbated immune response. This inadequate response induces elevated levels of chemokines (CCL2, CCL8, CXCL2, CXCL8, CXCL9, and CXCL16), high expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-10, IL-1, and TNF, in addition to activation, and recruitment of immune cells [26][27]. The called “cytokine storm” leads to unbalanced levels of proinflammatory and antiviral mediators that remain the leading cause of ARDS and multi-organ failure [25][26][28].
On the other hand, the adaptive immune response is orchestrated by CD8+ T lymphocytes, TCD4+, and B lymphocytes, responsible for immunological memory. In response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, it has been shown that non-severe patients or patients with mild symptoms have a low viral load and may not have produced antibodies [29][30]. In contrast, antibodies have been detected by immunoassay tests and biosensors in patients with severe symptoms or cases [29][31]. Patients with a high viral load activate the humoral immune response in the first two weeks of infection [32]. The first seroconversion of antibodies is against protein N, followed by protein S of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with disease symptoms [33]. Immunoglobulins IgA and IgM begin to be detected within the first ten days of infection; however, both antibodies can cross-react with protein N, which is highly conserved among coronaviruses [34][35]. Moreover, high levels of IgG1 and IgG3 are expressed ten to fourteen days after infection in patients with disease symptoms [36][37]. Older adults and seriously ill individuals reach high specificity antibodies concentrations against SARS-CoV-2 S protein.
Due to the urgency of reducing thousands of people’s cases and deaths, scientists have developed several vaccines against COVID-19. Efforts are being made to apply vaccines with emergency use authorization to the world population. Vaccination elicits immune responses capable of potently neutralizing SARS-CoV-2. However, the available data show that most approved COVID-19 vaccines protect against severe disease but do not prevent the clinical manifestation of COVID-19 [38]. Instead, it has been demonstrated that new variants with mutations in the spike, the main target of neutralizing antibodies, can escape the neutralization of humoral immunity [39][40].

3. SARS-CoV-2 Detection

Molecular tests or biosensors are the tools for detecting SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids/ antigens/antibodies against the virus (Figure 1). In the early part of the illness, viral particles and their subunits can be detected; beyond the first two weeks of illness onset, antibodies against the virus could be detected [41]. The SARS-CoV-2 infection stage is highly correlated to the diagnostic technique recommended for the pandemic. Early diagnosis of the disease and isolation of infected people is key to controlling the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 [42][43]. In the initial phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the individual presents a presymptomatic phase lasting up to 5 days, in which a high viral load is present [21]. During these early days of infection, antibodies may not be detected. Therefore, since the pandemic began, the diagnostic method has been based on detecting viral genes using the molecular PCR technique, the gold standard worldwide [44][45][46]. The pandemic has exceeded the ability to identify the virus in laboratories using molecular techniques; this has motivated the development of new technologies for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 that are easy to perform compared to molecular tests in clinical laboratories. LFIA has been the unique device approved and available to use in mass worldwide. Biosensors with transducers are developing in SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic. However, most nanomaterials used in these biosensors present interferences with contaminants in human samples compared to performance under experimental conditions. It is important to emphasize that LFIAs have the unique properties of availability, accessibility, economy, and POC (including home use), these characteristics that are not shared by all biosensors with a transducer. In addition, biosensors with transducers require exclusive handling in laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1998 [47][48]. The FDA have to date approved only one piezoelectric biosensor [47] (Figure 1).
Biosensors 12 00728 g001 550
Figure 1. Principle of LFIA test. LFIA test detects the target molecule on an absorbent membrane with antibodies aligned to form the test and control lines. The sample is placed on a sample pad, then migrates to the conjugate pad, which contains the immobilized conjugate, usually made of nanoparticles (colloidal gold, colored or fluorescent latex, colored cellulose) conjugated to antibodies or antigens. The sample interacts with the conjugate, and both migrate to the next section of the strip, where the biological components of the assay (proteins/antibodies/antigens) are immobilized. In this section, the analyte and conjugate are captured. Excess reagent passes through the capture lines and accumulates on the absorbent pad. The results are interpreted on the nitrocellulose membrane as the presence or absence of the test and control lines.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/bios12090728

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