RESUMEN
We report a genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 lineages circulating in Parana, Southern Brazil, from March 2020 to April 2021. Our analysis, based on 333 genomes, revealed that the first variants detected in the state of Parana in March 2020 were the B.1.1.33 and B.1.1.28 variants. The variants B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33 were predominant throughout 2020 until the introduction of the variant P.2 in August 2020 and a variant of concern (VOC), P.1, in January 2021. Phylogenetic analyses of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes that were previously classified as the VOC P.1 lineage by PANGO showed that some genomes from February to April 2021 branched in a monophyletic clade and that these samples grouped together with genomes recently described with the lineage P.1-like-II. An extended phylogenetic analysis, including SARS-CoV-2 genomes from all over Brazil, showed that the P.1-like-II lineage appears at a high frequency in the southern region of the country. The P.1-like-II lineage genomes share some, but not all, defining mutations of the VOC P.1. For instance, it has the previously described ORF1a:D2980H and N:P383 L unique mutations and the newly detected ORF1a:P1213 L and ORF1b:K2340N mutations. Additionally, a new mutation (E661D) in the spike (S) protein has been identified in nearly 10% of the genomes classified as the VOC P.1 from Parana in March and April 2021. We also report the identification of the S:W152C mutation in one genome from Parana, classified as the N.10 variant. Finally, we analyzed the correlation between the lineage and the P.1 variant frequency, age group (patients younger or older than 60 years old) and the clinical data of 86 cases from the state of Parana. This analysis does not support an association between the P.1 variant prevalence and COVID-19 severity or age strata. Our results provided a reliable picture of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the state of Parana characterized by the dominance of the P.1 strain, as well as a high frequencies of the P.1-like-II lineage and the S:E661D mutations. Epidemiological and genomic surveillance efforts should be continued to unveil the biological relevance of the novel mutations detected in the VOC P.1 in Parana.
RESUMEN
Serological assays are important tools to identify previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2, helping to track COVID-19 cases and determine the level of humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 infections and/or immunization to future vaccines. Here the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity and high yield using a single chromatography step. The purified SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein was used to develop an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the identification of human SARS-CoV-2 seroconverts. The assay sensitivity and specificity were determined analyzing sera from 140 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases and 210 pre-pandemic controls. The assay operated with 90% sensitivity and 98% specificity; identical accuracies were obtained in head-to-head comparison with a commercial ELISA kit. Antigen coated plates were stable for up to 3 months at 4{degrees}C). The ELISA method described is ready to mass production and will be an additional toll to track COVID-19 cases.
RESUMEN
Here we describe a novel immunogenic method to detect COVID-19. The method is a chromogenic magnetic bead-based ELISA which allows inexpensive and quantitative detection of human IgG or IgM antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in serum or whole blood samples in just 12 minutes. As a proof of concept, we compared the performance of our new method to classical ELISA. Person correlation between optical densities obtained using the two methods was 0.98, the color intensity observed in the novel method correlated with antibody titers determined by classical ELISA. The novel magnetic bead-based ELISA correctly classified all 6 positive COVID-19 samples tested and showed 100% specificity as judged by the analysis of a cohort of 26 negative samples. The magnetic bead-based ELISA performed better than classic ELISA to discriminate COVID-19 positive serum with low antibody titer. The chromogenic magnetic bead-based ELISA method described here can be applied to both point of care and high throughput analysis. The method is readily adaptable to be used with other protein and peptide-based antigens.
