ArticleScience translational medicine2021
IgA dominates the early neutralizing antibody response to SARS-CoV-2.
Article in Science translational medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 709 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
709 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Timing, Titre, and Host Determinants of Convalescent Plasma Efficacy in COVID-19: A Systematic Review With Design-Stratified Narrative Synthesis.Reviews in medical virology · 2026Pooled it
- COVID-19 antibody responses in individuals with natural immunity and with vaccination-induced immunity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- COVID-19: The Course, Vaccination and Immune Response in People with Multiple Sclerosis: Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Mucosal and Systemic Antibody Responses After Boosting With a Bivalent Messenger RNA Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Vaccine.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Trial
- Detection of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Mucosal Immunoglobulin A in Clinical Saliva Samples After a Dose of Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine.Journal of medical virology · 2025Trial
- Randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of forest walking compared to urban walking in enhancing mucosal immunity.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Safety and immunogenicity of heterologous boosting with orally administered aerosolized bivalent adenovirus type-5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine and B.1.1.529 variant adenovirus type-5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine in adults 18 years and older: a randomized, double blinded, parallel controlled trial.Emerging microbes & infections · 2024Trial
- An intranasally administered adenovirus-vectored SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induces robust mucosal secretory IgA.JCI insight · 2024Trial
- Casirivimab + imdevimab accelerates symptom resolution linked to improved COVID-19 outcomes across susceptible antibody and risk profiles.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- SARS-CoV-2 Exposure Elicits a Strong Mucosal Antibody Response That May Facilitate Quicker Mucosal Viral Clearance.Viruses · 2026Article
- Mucosal immunity: mechanism and application in cancer immunotherapy.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- Malaria serology for surveillance, insights into immunity, and vaccine development.Infection and immunity · 2026Review
- Harnessing mucosal immunity for protective vaccines.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2026Review
- Immunomodulatory, inflammatory, functional and biomechanical benefits of chronic exercise in physically active vs. insufficiently active older after fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose: nine months cohort.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2026Article
- Rotavirus mucosal immunology: insights and research priorities from an international convening in Liverpool, March 2024.NPJ vaccines · 2026Article
- Whey Proteins and Immunity: Mechanisms Underlying Immune System Reinforcement and Protection Against Viral and Bacterial Infections.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Antibody Transcytosis and Neutralizing Activity in Respiratory Epithelial Cells.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Enhancing immune protection in dairy cattle: role ofmSphere · 2026Article
- mRNA COVID-19 vaccination induces minimal IgA in saliva in the absence of prior clinical or subclinical infection.Vaccine · 2026Article
- Validation of a Mucosal IgA Assay for SARS-CoV-2.Microorganisms · 2026Article
649 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
27 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Humoral immune responses are typically characterized by primary IgM antibody responses followed by secondary antibody responses associated with immune memory and composed of IgG, IgA, and IgE. Here, we measured acute humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2, including the frequency of antibody-secreting cells and the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing antibodies in the serum, saliva, and bronchoalveolar fluid of 159 patients with COVID-19. Early SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral responses were dominated by IgA antibodies. Peripheral expansion of IgA plasmablasts with mucosal homing potential was detected shortly after the onset of symptoms and peaked during the third week of the disease. The virus-specific antibody responses included IgG, IgM, and IgA, but IgA contributed to virus neutralization to a greater extent compared with IgG. Specific IgA serum concentrations decreased notably 1 month after the onset of symptoms, but neutralizing IgA remained detectable in saliva for a longer time (days 49 to 73 post-symptoms). These results represent a critical observation given the emerging information as to the types of antibodies associated with optimal protection against reinfection and whether vaccine regimens should consider targeting a potent but potentially short-lived IgA response.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.