Evaluation of humoral immune response and inflammatory response in patients with confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 at Hospital Sírio Libanês and correlation with disease severity

• Grant number: 20/06409-1
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: July 01, 2020 - June 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal researcher: Edison Luiz Durigon
• Grantee: Edison Luiz Durigon
• Home Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Assoc. researchers: Anamaria Aranha Camargo ; Danielle Bastos Araujo ; Danielle Bruna Leal de Oliveira ; Esper Georges Kallás ; Luiz Fernando Lima Reis ; Mariane Tami Amano
• Associated research grant: 16/20045-7 - Antigen discovery and development of serological diagnostic methods and vaccine approaches against the Zika Virus (ZIKV), AP.TEM

Abstract

In December 2019, an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new beta coronavirus was announced in Wuhan - China. Since then, the virus has spread to more than 195 countries and territories, and the number of reported cases of the disease has increased exponentially. Several agents for the treatment of the disease are being tested in clinical trials without controlled data on efficacy and safety, or in protocols for compassionate use. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved as an investigational product the use of plasma from convalescent individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the treatment of patients with severe illness as long as prescribed by a qualified physician . In theory, passive immunotherapy with plasma from convalescent donors would allow the transfer of neutralizing antibodies capable of suppressing viremia and modifying the patient's inflammatory and immune response, changing the course of the disease. In this case, it is postulated that convalescent patients would have high titers of neutralizing antibodies and patients with severe conditions would have low titers of these antibodies, thus justifying the transfer of antibodies by passive immunotherapy. However, few studies have so far characterized the inflammatory and humoral response in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 and there is only one report on the presence of neutralizing antibodies in the plasma of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. This characterization is essential for a better scientific basis for the use of passive immunotherapy in patients with severe cases of COVID-19, as well as for a better standardization of this therapy seeking greater efficacy and safety. In this context, this project aims to quantify and compare the levels of neutralizing antibodies in two groups of patients with positive qRT-PCR for the detection of SARS-Cov-2: patients with severe cases of acute respiratory failure and patients convalescent from the disease. It is also intended to quantify and compare the profile of plasma proteins and cells of the immune system present in the blood of the two groups of patients. (AU)

Scientific publications

(13)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

WENDEL, SILVANO; KUTNER, JOSE MAURO; MACHADO, RAFAEL; FONTAO-WENDEL, RITA; BUB, CAROLINA; FACHINI, ROBERTA; YOKOYAMA, ANA; CANDELARIA, GABRIELA; SAKASHITA, ARACI; ACHKAR, RUTH; et al. Screening forSARS-CoV-2 antibodies in convalescent plasma in Brazil: Preliminary lessons from a voluntary convalescent donor program. Transfusion, v. 60, n. 12, p. 2938-2951, DEC 2020. (20/06409-1, 18/23680-0, 16/20045-7, 17/24769-2)

DANIELLE BASTOS ARAUJO; RAFAEL RAHAL GUARAGNA MACHADO; DEYVID EMANUEL AMGARTEN; FERNANDA DE MELLO MALTA; GABRIEL GUARANY DE ARAUJO; CAIRO OLIVEIRA MONTEIRO; ERIKA DONIZETTI CANDIDO; CAMILA PEREIRA SOARES; FERNANDO GATTI DE MENEZES; ANA CAROLINA CORNACHIONI PIRES; et al. SARS-CoV-2 isolation from the first reported patients in Brazil and establishment of a coordinated task network. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, v. 115, 2020-10-23. (20/04680-0, 20/06409-1, 18/23680-0, 16/20045-7, 17/24769-2, 18/21076-9, 17/25123-9)

MENDRONE-JUNIOR, ALFREDO; DINARDO, CARLA LUANA; FERREIRA, SUZETE CLEUZA; NISHYA, ANNA; SALLES, NANCI ALVES; DE ALMEIDA NETO, CESAR; HAMASAKI, DEBORA TOSHEI; FACINCANI, TILA; DE OLIVEIRA ALVES, LUCAS BASSOLLI; MACHADO, RAFAEL RAHAL GUARAGNA; et al. Correlation between SARS-COV-2 antibody screening by immunoassay and neutralizing antibody testing. Transfusion, v. 61, n. 4, p. 1181-1190, APR 2021. (16/20045-7, 20/06409-1, 17/24769-2)

BATISTA DOS SANTOS, JULIANA DE MELO; SOARES, CAMILA PEREIRA; MONTEIRO, FERNANDA RODRIGUES; MELLO, RALYRIA; DO AMARAL, JONATAS BUSSADOR; AGUIAR, ANDRESSA SIMOES; SOLEDADE, MARIANA PEREIRA; SUCUPIRA, CAROLINA; DE PAULIS, MILENA; ANDRADE, JULIANA BANNWART; et al. In Nasal Mucosal Secretions, Distinct IFN and IgA Responses Are Found in Severe and Mild SARS-CoV-2 Infection. FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY, v. 12, FEB 25 2021. (20/06409-1, 19/14115-0, 16/20045-7, 18/23680-0, 12/15165-2)

LOPES, ALESSANDRA G. D.; CELESTINO, CAMILA S. H.; BARROS, TIAGO T. A.; FEVEREIRO, ALINE G.; GEJER, DEBORA H.; OLIVEIRA, FERNANDO M. F.; BRASIL, JAMILE M.; BOSSOLAN, ROSELY M.; PINTO, GABRIELA C. C.; SANTOS, ANA C. E. Z.; et al. Case Report: A Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Teenager With Angelman Syndrome. FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE, v. 8, MAR 12 2021. (17/24769-2, 20/06409-1)

DE FREITAS DUTRA, VALERIA; BONET-BUB, CAROLINA; YOKOYAMA, ANA PAULA H.; ACHKAR, RUTH; MACHADO, RAFAEL RAHAL GUARAGNA; ASSUNCAO, MURILO; CANDELARIA, GABRIELA; SOARES, CAMILA PEREIRA; FACHINI, ROBERTA MARIA; FONTAO-WENDEL, RITA; et al. Anti-A and SARS-CoV-2: an intriguing association. Vox Sanguinis, v. 116, n. 5, MAR 2021. (20/06409-1, 18/23680-0, 16/20045-7, 17/24769-2)

LAZARI, LUCAS C.; ZERBINATI, RODRIGO M.; ROSA-FERNANDES, LIVIA; SANTIAGO, VERONICA FEIJOLI; ROSA, KLAISE F.; ANGELI, CLAUDIA B.; SCHWAB, GABRIELA; PALMIERI, MICHELLE; SARMENTO, DMITY J. S.; MARINHO, CLAUDIO R. F.; et al. ALDI-TOF mass spectrometry of saliva samples as a prognostic tool for COVID-1. OURNAL OF ORAL MICROBIOLOG, v. 14, n. 1, DEC 31 2022. (18/15549-1, 20/06409-1, 20/04923-0, 18/18257-1, 15/26722-8, 17/03966-4, 21/07490-0, 18/20468-0)

MACHADO, RAFAEL R. G.; GLASER, TALITA; ARAUJO, DANIELLE B.; PETIZ, LYVIA LINTZMAIER; OLIVEIRA, DANIELLE B. L.; DURIGON, GIULIANA S.; LEAL, ALESSANDRA L.; PINHO, JOAO RENATO R.; FERREIRA, LUIS C. S.; ULRICH, HENNING; et al. Inhibition of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Replication by Hypertonic Saline Solution in Lung and Kidney Epithelial Cells. ACS PHARMACOLOGY & TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE, v. 4, n. 5, p. 1514-1527, OCT 8 2021. (20/06409-1, 19/00195-2, 18/07366-4, 17/24769-2, 16/20045-7, 20/04680-0)

YOKOYAMA, ANA PAULA H.; WENDEL, SILVANO; BONET-BUB, CAROLINA; FACHINI, ROBERTA M.; DAMETTO, ANA PAULA F.; BLUMM, FERNANDO; DUTRA, VALERIA F.; CANDELARIA, GABRIELA T. P.; SAKASHITA, ARACI M.; MACHADO, RAFAEL RAHAL GUARAGNA; et al. COVID-19 convalescent plasma cohort study: Evaluation of the association between both donor and recipient neutralizing antibody titers and patient outcomes. Transfusion, v. 61, n. 8, JUL 2021. (20/06409-1, 16/20045-7)

WENDEL, SILVANO; FACHINI, ROBERTA; FONTAO-WENDEL, RITA C. L.; MELLO, RALYRIA; VELASQUEZ, CARLOS VINICIUS; GUARAGNA MACHADO, RAFAEL RAHAL; BRITO, MAYRA ALTOBELLI; AMARAL, MARCELO; SOARES, CAMILA PEREIRA; ACHKAR, RUTH; et al. urrogate test performance for SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) for convalescent plasma (CCP): How useful could they be. Transfusion, v. 61, n. 12, OCT 2021. (17/24769-2, 20/06409-1, 16/20045-7, 18/23680-0)

FELISMINO, EDUARDO S.; SANTOS, JULIANA M. B.; ROSSI, MARCELO; SANTOS, CARLOS A. F.; DURIGON, EDISON L.; OLIVEIRA, DANIELLE B. L.; THOMAZELLI, LUCIANO M.; MONTEIRO, FERNANDA R.; SPERANDIO, ADRIANE; APOSTOLICO, JULIANA S.; et al. Better Response to Influenza Virus Vaccination in Physically Trained Older Adults Is Associated With Reductions of Cytomegalovirus-Specific Immunoglobulins as Well as Improvements in the Inflammatory and CD8(+) T-Cell Profiles. FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY, v. 12, OCT 12 2021. (20/06409-1, 16/20045-7, 12/15165-2, 19/14115-0)

DORLASS, ERICK GUSTAVO; LOURENCO, KARINE LIMA; MISERANI MAGALHAES, RUBENS DANIEL; SATO, HUGO; FIORINI, ALEX; PEIXOTO, RENATA; COELHO, HELENA PEREZ; TELEZYNSKI, BRUNA LAROTONDA; SCAGION, GUILHERME PEREIRA; OMETTO, TATIANA; et al. urvey of SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity in two major Brazilian cities using a fast and affordable Sanger sequencing strateg. Genomics, v. 113, n. 6, p. 4109-4115, NOV 2021. (20/06409-1)

WENDEL, SILVANO; FONTAO-WENDEL, RITA; FACHINI, ROBERTA; CANDELARIA, GABRIELA; SCURACCHIO, PATRICIA; ACHKAR, RUTH; BRITO, MAYRA; REIS, LUIZ FERNANDO; CAMARGO, ANAMARIA; AMANO, MARIANE; et al. A longitudinal study of convalescent plasma (CCP) donors and correlation of ABO group, initial neutralizing antibodies (nAb), and body mass index (BMI) with nAb and anti-nucleocapsid (NP) SARS-CoV-2 antibody kinetics: Proposals for better quality of CCP collections. Transfusion, v. 61, n. 5, FEB 2021. (20/06409-1, 18/23680-0, 16/20045-7, 17/24769-2)