Project description:In every pandemic, it is critical to test as many people as possible and keep track of the number of new cases of infection. Therefore, there is a need for novel, fast and unambiguous testing methods. In this study, we designed a sandwich-type voltammetric immunosensor based on unlabeled- and labeled with a redox probe antibodies against virus spike protein for fast and ultrasensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2. The process of the preparation of the sensor layer included chemisorption of cysteamine layer and covalent anchoring of antibody specific for the S1 subunit of the S protein. The source of the voltametric signal was the antibody labeled with the redox probe, which was introduced onto biosensor surface only after the recognition of the virus. This easy-to-handle immunosensor was characterized by a wide analytical range (2.0·10-7 to 0.20 mg·L-1) and low detection limit (8.0·10-8 mg·L-1 ≡ 0.08 pg·mL-1 ≡ 4 virions·μL-1). The utility of the designed device was also evidenced by the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the clinical samples. Moreover, the main advantage and a huge novelty of the developed device, compared to those already existing, is the moment of generating the analytical signal of the redox probe that appears only after the virus recognition. Thus, our diagnostic innovation may considerably contribute to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. The as-developed immunosensor may well offer a novel alternative approach for viral detection that could complement or even replace the existing methods.
Project description:BackgroundGiven the persistence of viral RNA in clinically recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) have been reported as potential molecular viability markers for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, few data are available on their longitudinal kinetics, compared with genomic RNA (gRNA), in clinical samples.MethodsWe analyzed 536 samples from 205 patients with COVID-19 from placebo-controlled, outpatient trials of peginterferon Lambda-1a (Lambda; n = 177) and favipiravir (n = 359). Nasal swabs were collected at 3 time points in the Lambda (days 1, 4, and 6) and favipiravir (days 1, 5, and 10) trials. N-gene gRNA and sgRNA were quantified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. To investigate the decay kinetics in vitro, we measured gRNA and sgRNA in A549ACE2+ cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, following treatment with remdesivir or dimethylsulfoxide control.ResultsAt 6 days in the Lambda trial and 10 days in the favipiravir trial, sgRNA remained detectable in 51.6% (32/62) and 49.5% (51/106) of the samples, respectively. Cycle threshold (Ct) values for gRNA and sgRNA were highly linearly correlated (marginal R 2 = 0.83), and the rate of increase did not differ significantly in the Lambda trial (1.36 cycles/d vs 1.36 cycles/d; P = .97) or the favipiravir trial (1.03 cycles/d vs 0.94 cycles/d; P = .26). From samples collected 15-21 days after symptom onset, sgRNA was detectable in 48.1% (40/83) of participants. In SARS-CoV-2-infected A549ACE2+ cells treated with remdesivir, the rate of Ct increase did not differ between gRNA and sgRNA.ConclusionsIn clinical samples and in vitro, sgRNA was highly correlated with gRNA and did not demonstrate different decay patterns to support its application as a viability marker.
Project description:Clinical trials of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) therapeutics often include virological secondary endpoints to compare viral clearance and viral load reduction between treatment and placebo arms. This is typically achieved using quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-qPCR), which cannot differentiate replicant competent virus from non-viable virus or free RNA, limiting its utility as an endpoint. Culture-based methods for SARS-CoV-2 exist; however, these are often insensitive and poorly standardized for use as clinical trial endpoints. We report optimization of a culture-based approach evaluating three cell lines, three detection methods, and key culture parameters. We show that Vero-angiotensin-converting enzyme 2-transmembrane serine protease 2 cells in combination with RT-qPCR of culture supernatants from the first passage provides the greatest overall detection of Delta viral replication (22 of 32, 68.8%), being able to identify viable virus in 83.3% (20 of 24) of clinical samples with initial Ct values of <30. Likewise, we demonstrate that RT-qPCR using culture supernatants from the first passage of Vero human signaling lymphocytic activation molecule cells provides the highest overall detection of Omicron viral replication (9 of 31, 29%), detecting live virus in 39.1% (9 of 23) of clinical samples with initial Ct values of <25. This assessment demonstrates that combining RT-qPCR with virological endpoint analysis has utility in clinical trials of therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2; however, techniques may require optimization based on dominant circulating strain.ImportanceRT-qPCR is commonly used for virological endpoints during clinical trials for antiviral therapy to determine the quantity and presence of virus in a sample. However, RT-qPCR identifies viral RNA and cannot determine if viable virus is present. Existing culture-based techniques for SARS-CoV-2 are insensitive and not sufficiently standardized to be employed as clinical study endpoints. The use of a culture system to monitor replicating viruses could mitigate the possibility of molecular techniques identifying viral RNA from inactive or lysed viral particles. The methodology optimized in this study for detecting infectious viruses may have application as a secondary virological endpoint in clinical trials of therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2 in addition to numerous research processes.
Project description:The infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in deceased persons and organisms remains unclear. We studied transgenic K18 hACE2 mice to determine the kinetics of virus infectivity after host death. Five days after death, virus infectivity in the lung declined by >96% and RNA copies declined by 48.2%.
Project description:SARS-CoV-2 has infected over 128 million people worldwide, and until a vaccine is developed and widely disseminated, vigilant testing and contact tracing are the most effective ways to slow the spread of COVID-19. Typical clinical testing only confirms the presence or absence of the virus, but rather, a simple and rapid testing procedure that sequences the entire genome would be impactful and allow for tracing the spread of the virus and variants, as well as the appearance of new variants. However, traditional short read sequencing methods are time consuming and expensive. Herein, we describe a tiled genome array that we developed for rapid and inexpensive full viral genome resequencing, and we have applied our SARS-CoV-2-specific genome tiling array to rapidly and accurately resequence the viral genome from eight clinical samples. We have resequenced eight samples acquired from patients in Wyoming that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. We were ultimately able to sequence over 95% of the genome of each sample with greater than 99.9% average accuracy.
Project description:Lung samples were generated from male mice of C57BL/6JHamSlc-ob/ob (ob/ob) and C57BLKS/J-db/db on 3 days post infection of mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 or non-infected condition
Project description:The SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant of Concern is highly transmissible and contains mutations that confer partial immune escape. The emergence of Delta in North America caused the first surge in COVID-19 cases after SARS-CoV-2 vaccines became widely available. To determine whether individuals infected despite vaccination might be capable of transmitting SARS-CoV-2, we compared RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) data from 20,431 test-positive anterior nasal swab specimens from fully vaccinated (n = 9,347) or unvaccinated (n = 11,084) individuals tested at a single commercial laboratory during the interval 28 June- 1 December 2021 when Delta variants were predominant. We observed no significant effect of vaccine status alone on Ct value, nor when controlling for vaccine product or sex. Testing a subset of low-Ct (<25) samples, we detected infectious virus at similar rates, and at similar titers, in specimens from vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. These data indicate that vaccinated individuals infected with Delta variants are capable of shedding infectious SARS-CoV-2 and could play a role in spreading COVID-19.
Project description:The Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unexpected death toll worldwide. Even though several guidelines for the management of infectious corpses have been proposed, the limited number of post-mortem analyses during the pandemic has led to inaccuracies in the counting of COVID-19 deaths and contributed to a lack of important information about the pathophysiology of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Due to the impossibility of carrying out autopsies on all corpses, the scientific community has raised the question of whether confirmatory analyses could be performed on exhumed bodies after a long period of burial to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Post-mortem lung samples were collected from 16 patients who died from COVID-19 infection and were buried for a long period of time. A custom RNA extraction protocol was developed to enhance extraction of viral RNA from degraded samples and highly sensitive molecular methods, including RT-qPCR and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), were used to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The custom extraction protocol developed allowed us to extract total RNA effectively from all lung samples collected. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was effectively detected in all samples by both RT-qPCR and ddPCR, regardless of the length of burial. ddPCR results confirmed the persistence of the virus in this anatomical niche and revealed high viral loads in some lung samples, suggesting active infection at the time of death. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in the lung even after a long post-mortem interval (up to 78 days). The extraction protocol herein described, and the highly sensitive molecular analyses performed, could represent the standard procedures for SARS-CoV-2 detection in degraded lung specimens. Finally, the innovative results obtained encourage post-mortem confirmatory analyses even after a long post-mortem interval.