It appears you don't have support to open PDFs in this web browser. To view this file, Open with your PDF reader
Abstract
Early predictions forecasted large numbers of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases and associated deaths in Africa. To date, Africa has been relatively spared. Various hypotheses were postulated to explain the lower than anticipated impact on public health in Africa. However, the contribution of pre-existing immunity is yet to be investigated. In this study, the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins in pre-pandemic samples from Africa, Europe, South and North America was examined by ELISA. The protective efficacy of N specific antibodies isolated from Central African donors was tested by in vitro neutralization and in a mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 S and N proteins were rare in all populations except in Gabon and Senegal where N specific antibodies were prevalent. However, these antibodies failed to neutralize the virus either in vitro or in vivo. Overall, this study indicates that cross-reactive immunity against SARS-CoV-2 N protein was present in Africa prior to the pandemic. However, this pre-existing humoral immunity does not impact viral fitness in rodents suggesting that other human immune defense mechanisms could be involved. In Africa, seroprevalence studies using the N protein are over-estimating SARS-CoV-2 circulation.
You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Show full disclaimer
Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of the translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimer
Details
1 Université Laval, Département de Microbiologie-Infectiologie et Immunologie, Quebec City, Canada (GRID:grid.23856.3a) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8390)
2 Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Libreville, Libreville, Gabon (GRID:grid.418077.d) (ISNI:0000 0004 6017 6227)
3 University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Research Institute at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Biological Sciences Platform, Toronto, Canada (GRID:grid.17063.33) (ISNI:0000 0001 2157 2938)
4 Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal (GRID:grid.418508.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 1956 9596)
5 University of Toronto, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Toronto, Canada (GRID:grid.17063.33) (ISNI:0000 0001 2157 2938); Sinai Health System/University Health Network, Department of Microbiology, Toronto, Canada (GRID:grid.231844.8) (ISNI:0000 0004 0474 0428)
6 University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Research Institute at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Biological Sciences Platform, Toronto, Canada (GRID:grid.17063.33) (ISNI:0000 0001 2157 2938); University of Toronto, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Toronto, Canada (GRID:grid.17063.33) (ISNI:0000 0001 2157 2938); Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics, Division of Microbiology, Toronto, Canada (GRID:grid.413104.3) (ISNI:0000 0000 9743 1587)
7 University of Brasilia, Laboratory of Immunology and Inflammation, Brasilia, Brazil (GRID:grid.7632.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2238 5157)
8 Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, Unité d’Evolution Epidémiologie et Résistances Parasitaires, Franceville, Gabon (GRID:grid.418115.8) (ISNI:0000 0004 1808 058X)
9 Copenhagen University Hospital, Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre, Denmark (GRID:grid.4973.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 0646 7373); University of Copenhagen, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Copenhagen, Denmark (GRID:grid.5254.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 0674 042X)
10 University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, USA (GRID:grid.176731.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 1547 9964)
11 Université Laval, Département de Microbiologie-Infectiologie et Immunologie, Quebec City, Canada (GRID:grid.23856.3a) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8390); Global Urgent and Advanced Research and Development, Batiscan, Canada (GRID:grid.23856.3a)