Investigation of Durability of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and IgM Antibodies in Recovered COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Study

en Investigation of Durability of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and IgM Antibodies in Recovered COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Study Background: Evidence on seroconversion profile of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infected patients is limited. We mainly aimed to evaluate seroconversion and persistence of virus-specific antibodies in patients infected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 118 patients with COVID-19 presentations admitted to three hospitals in Iran and recovered from the disease, during April and May 2020. Presence of COVID-19 was confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing on nasopharyngeal swabs. Serum samples were collected at different time points, including 0-5, 6-15, 16-25, 26-35, and 36-95 days of clinical symptom onset. For measurement of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG and IgM antibody titers, Iran's Food and Drug Administration-approved SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kits were used. Results: Serologic assay revealed that 37.3% of patients (n=44) were positive for IgM at 0-5 days interval after clinical symptom onset. This rate was 60.2% (n=71) for IgG. There were increasing IgM and IgG seroconversion rates during first 25 days of clinical symptom onset, but seropositivity started to decrease thereafter, which was more evident for IgM (17.9%) than IgG (58.9%) at the 36-95 days post symptoms appearance. In other words, it was found that 83.6% of IgM-positive and 32.9% of IgG-positive patients in the first month of clinical symptom onset became seronegative in the third month of clinical symptom onset. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection were developed in recovered COVID-19 patients; however, some of them were seronegative three months after onset of relevant symptoms. Furthermore, the stability of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies could also correct our expectations from COVID-19 vaccination responses. COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Seroconversion, Seropositivity 233 238 https://www.ajmb.org/En/Article.aspx?id=60509 https://www.ajmb.org/PDF/En/FullText/60509.pdf MohammadZamaniDigestive Diseases Research Institute, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran91891AhmadGhasemiHealthy Ageing Research Centre, Neyshabur Faculty of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran91892MortezaShamshirgaranHealthy Ageing Research Centre, Neyshabur Faculty of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran91893SajjadAhmadpourGastroenterology and Hepatology Diseases Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran91894AhmadHormatiGastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran91895JavadKhodadadiInfectious Disease Department, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran91896MehranVarnasseriInfectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran91897FatemehAminiDepartment of Persian Medicine, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran91898AmanehShayanradLiver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran91899VahidYounesiSynapse IVD Accelerator, Tehran, Iran91900HosseinPoustchiLiver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran91901MahdiShabaniDepartment of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran125