Microchip detects vaccination gaps
A new microchip tests for antibodies against corona, measles, diphtheria and tetanus in parallel - with a single drop of blood
Scientists at the InfectoGnostics research campus in Jena have developed a new microarray that can be used to detect antibodies against a wide range of infectious agents. A single drop of the patient's blood can thus be used to test whether the immune system has responded to a vaccination or whether antibody-mediated immunity exists after infection. The campus partners Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies (Leibniz-IPHT), fzmb GmbH, Virion\Serion GmbH and the University Hospital Jena (UKJ) cooperated to develop and validate the test. The results were published in the journal "Scientific Reports" and are available free of charge (DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10823-7).
Photo by CDC on Unsplash
To defend itself against infectious diseases and foreign substances, the human immune system forms special proteins against the pathogen - so-called antibodies. However, these antibodies are not directed against the entire pathogen, but always bind to very specific molecular structures of the intruder, also known as "antigens," using the lock-and-key principle. InfectoGnostics scientists have now developed a test platform in the RESISTOVAC project in which dozens of such antigens can be applied. A single drop of the patient's blood can thus be used to test in parallel for several antibodies against common and new infectious diseases.
The central focus of the development was initially a more precise screening of the immune response to the coronavirus. A so-called protein microarray was used for this purpose: This is a chip a few millimeters in size on which various antigens are applied and bound as capture molecules. When antibodies from the patient's blood are brought together with the matching antigens on the chip, a specially developed method causes the corresponding test fields on the microarray to change color - meaning that the antibody in question must have been present in the blood.
To validate the reliability of this detection, the InfectoGnostics researchers applied different SARS-CoV-2 antigens to the microarray and tested them against real samples from Covid 19 patients from Thuringia: "We wanted to detect the IgG antibodies that are formed relatively late - a kind of long-term memory of the immune system against components of a pathogen. To detect them, we applied 18 antigen combinations for the corona virus as capture molecules," explains Sindy Burgold-Voigt, first author of the study and doctoral student at Leibniz-IPHT.
Cooperation of several partners from the InfectoGnostics research campus
The microarray was designed by Leibniz-IPHT scientists in the "Optical-Molecular Diagnostics and Systems Technology" working group headed by Prof. Ralf Ehricht, together with developers from fzmb GmbH in Bad Langensalza. The microarray was finally manufactured on the basis of the "Inter-Array" system from fzmb GmbH. Another company partner of InfectoGnostics, Virion\Serion GmbH, also provided antigens for Corona and other pathogens.
For antigen referencing and validation of the test, Jena University Hospital provided biobank samples and data from their 2020 Corona study "CoNAN" conducted in Neustadt am Rennsteig. The village in northern Thuringia was completely quarantined at the beginning of the pandemic and systematically recorded by UKJ researchers in an epidemiological study.
Immune systems react extremely individually to coronaviruses
In their evaluation, the scientists found that the immune response varies greatly from individual to individual: For example, some patients had only developed antibodies against a protein that envelops the genetic material of the virus - the nucleocapsid. Other patients, however, had antibodies against the so-called spike protein - the pointed structures with which the virus attaches itself to human cells. Still others had matching antibodies against both corona antigens.
The clever combination of different antigens on a single test can thus be of high importance for the understanding of antibody immune defense and the work on new vaccines, explains Sindy Burgold-Voigt: "For the further development and efficiency analyses of vaccinations, it is extremely important that research has a diagnostic tool with which one can get a quick overview of the immune response."
Microarray for all STIKO vaccinations could provide clues to vaccination gaps
In addition to various surface structures of coronavirus, three antigens from the pathogens for diptheria, measles and tetanus, to which vaccinated individuals typically react, were also put on the test. Again, a corresponding antibody response was successfully detected in vaccinated individuals. "We were thus able to show that we can flexibly extend the test and detect different antibodies in the patient's blood during a single test. In the future, it would therefore be possible to compile a microarray for all vaccinations recommended by the STIKO, which could be used to screen for possible vaccination gaps quickly and inexpensively," explains Sindy Burgold-Voigt.
The test development was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the InfectoGnostics lead project RESISTOVAC, which aims to develop POC tests to determine immune status and bacterial resistance factors. In addition, the study was funded by the Free State of Thuringia and co-financed by European Union funds under the European Social Fund (ESF).
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
Original publication
Burgold-Voigt S, Müller E, Zopf D, Monecke S, Braun SD, Frankenfeld K, Kiehntopf M, Weis S, Schumacher T, Pletz MW, Ehricht R; CoNAN Study Group. Development of a new antigen-based microarray platform for screening and detection of human IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Sci Rep. 2022 May 16;12(1):8067.
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