A group of American and Chinese researchers developed the first universal antibody test to detect and identify all types of coronaviruses that infect humans.
The test, developed by scientists from the universities of Columbia (United States) and SunYat-Sen (China), makes it possible to investigate different types of coronavirus, including SARS-CoV-2 and its mutations.
Although the coronavirus seemed new to many in early 2020, at least seven types have been detected in recent decades.
The SARS epidemic of 2002 and the MERS outbreak in 2012 are just two examples of coronavirus strains that predate SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The test could help with the problem of false positives for COVID-19, due to all the genetic overlap between the different coronaviruses.
How the universal exam works
The HCoV peptide matrix consists of three million immune markers placed on a glass chip, encompassing the proteins of all known human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2.
The researchers identified 29 immune fingerprints – or peptides – of the virus that causes COVID-19, which laid the foundation for the universal test.
Signatures immune to the coronavirus appear in the body days after infection and remain between six and seven months after recovery.
The authors analyzed blood samples from people with mild, severe, or no symptoms from their COVID-19 infection, in addition to those who had not been exposed.
They also collected samples from those who had been exposed to SARS-CoV – responsible for the 2002 epidemic – or other seasonal strains.
These allowed the researchers to choose the 29 peptides that showed the “strongest and most specific reactivity” to SARS-CoV-2.
The test is 98 percent accurate with respect to specificity and sensitivity.
“This work will allow us and others to create inexpensive, easy-to-use blood tests that can provide exposure and immunity data,” said epidemiologist Nischay Mishra of Columbia University.
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