A Rapid Assay for SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies That Is Insensitive to Antiretroviral Drugs.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike pseudotyped virus (PSV) assays are widely used to measure neutralization titers of sera and of isolated neutralizing Abs (nAbs). PSV neutralization assays are safer than live virus neutralization assays and do not require access to biosafety level 3 laboratories. However, many PSV assays are nevertheless somewhat challenging and require at least 2 d to carry out.

SARS-CoV-2 Serology Status Detected by Commercialized Platforms Distinguishes Previous Infection and Vaccination Adaptive Immune Responses.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 110 million individuals and led to 2.5 million deaths worldwide. As more individuals are vaccinated, the clinical performance and utility of SARS-CoV-2 serology platforms needs to be evaluated.

SARS-CoV-2 Serology Status Detected by Commercialized Platforms Distinguishes Previous Infection and Vaccination Adaptive Immune Responses.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 110 million individuals and led to 2.5 million deaths worldwide. As more individuals are vaccinated, the clinical performance and utility of SARS-CoV-2 serology platforms needs to be evaluated.

Author Correction: Vaccine elicitation of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies from engineered B cells.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20304-y.

Vaccine elicitation of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies from engineered B cells.

HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) can suppress viremia and protect against HIV infection. However, their elicitation is made difficult by low frequencies of appropriate precursor B cell receptors and the complex maturation pathways required to generate bnAbs from these precursors. Antibody genes can be engineered into B cells for expression as both a functional antigen receptor on cell surfaces and as secreted antibody.

Commercial Serology Assays Predict Neutralization Activity against SARS-CoV-2.

Background: It is unknown whether a positive serology result correlates with protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. There are also concerns regarding the low positive predictive value of SARS-CoV-2 serology tests, especially when testing populations with low disease prevalence.

Methods: A neutralization assay was validated in a set of PCR-confirmed positive specimens and in a negative cohort.

B cells expressing authentic naive human VRC01-class BCRs can be recruited to germinal centers and affinity mature in multiple independent mouse models.

Animal models of human antigen-specific B cell receptors (BCRs) generally depend on "inferred germline" sequences, and thus their relationship to authentic naive human B cell BCR sequences and affinities is unclear. Here, BCR sequences from authentic naive human VRC01-class B cells from healthy human donors were selected for the generation of three BCR knockin mice. The BCRs span the physiological range of affinities found in humans, and use three different light chains (VK3-20, VK1-5, and VK1-33) found among subclasses of naive human VRC01-class B cells and HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs).