Measuring Potency of Neutralizing Antibodies in COVID-19 Patients Could Predict Severe or Fatal Outcomes

Understanding the body’s immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is key to developing effective treatments and long-lasting vaccines. Of particular interest are neutralizing antibodies, which can block the virus from entering into and infecting human cells, helping the immune system clear the virus and prevent future infections.

The scientists at Ragon developed an automated assay that could measure the potency of neutralizing antibodies in hundreds of COVID-19 patient samples at a time. They used this technology to examine samples from 113 COVID-19 patients, comparing milder cases to severe and fatal ones to understand the nuances of the antibody response. They discovered that patients with severe or fatal COVID-19 had significantly less effective neutralizing antibodies than patients with milder cases. In fact, a model they built suggested that measuring the potency of these neutralizing antibodies could predict patient outcomes. The neutralizing antibodies were also effective against the recently identified and widespread SARS-CoV-2 mutation known as D614G, indicating that the antibody responses that develop in most patients may provide protection even as the virus mutates.

“Potent neutralizing antibodies were associated with a positive outcome,” said Alejandro Balazs, PhD, Ragon Core Member and lead author of the study. “We found that if a person made antibodies that were more effective at neutralizing the virus, they seemed to have better clinical outcomes.”

“By measuring the neutralization potency of a patient’s antibodies,” added Wilfredo Garcia-Beltran, MD, PhD, co-first author of the study, “we may be able to identify patients at risk of severe disease or death and use that to guide treatment options.”

Related Links:
Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard