Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36851668›Full record

ArticleViruses2023

Humoral SARS-CoV-2 Immune Response in COVID-19 Recovered Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Individuals Related to Post-COVID-Syndrome.

Catharina Gerhards, Maximilian Kittel, Volker Ast, Peter Bugert, Matthias F Froelich, Michael Hetjens, Verena Haselmann, Michael Neumaier, Margot Thiaucourt

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Viruses, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. An overview of HLA variants in COVID-19 vaccine-induced autoimmunity.International journal of molecular epidemiology and genetics · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Catharina GerhardsInstitute for Clinical Chemistry, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7197-9242
Maximilian KittelInstitute for Clinical Chemistry, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2580-5038
Volker AstInstitute for Clinical Chemistry, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Peter BugertInstitute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunology, Heidelberg University, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Matthias F FroelichDepartment of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8501-2147
Michael HetjensDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, Center for Preventive Medicine and Digital Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Verena HaselmannInstitute for Clinical Chemistry, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8380-6581
Michael NeumaierInstitute for Clinical Chemistry, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Margot ThiaucourtInstitute for Clinical Chemistry, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Heidelberg University · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe duration of anti-SARS-CoV-2-antibody detectability up to 12 months was examined in individuals after either single convalescence or convalescence and vaccination. Moreover, variables that might influence an anti-RBD/S1 antibody decline and the existence of a post-COVID-syndrome (PCS) were addressed.

methodsForty-nine SARS-CoV-2-qRT-PCR-confirmed participants completed a 12-month examination of anti-SARS-CoV-2-antibody levels and PCS-associated long-term sequelae. Overall, 324 samples were collected. Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) was isolated and quantified from EDTA-plasma. As cfDNA is released into the bloodstream from dying cells, it might provide information on organ damage in the late recovery of COIVD-19. Therefore, we evaluated cfDNA concentrations as a biomarker for a PCS. In the context of antibody dynamics, a random forest-based logistic regression with antibody decline as the target was performed and internally validated.

resultsThe mean percentage dynamic related to the maximum measured value was 96 (±38)% for anti-RBD/S1 antibodies and 30 (±26)% for anti-N antibodies. Anti-RBD/S1 antibodies decreased in 37%, whereas anti-SARS-CoV-2-anti-N antibodies decreased in 86% of the subjects. Clinical anti-RBD/S1 antibody decline prediction models, including vascular and other diseases, were cross-validated (highest AUC 0.74). Long-term follow-up revealed no significant reduction in PCS prevalence but an increase in cognitive impairment, with no indication for cfDNA as a marker for a PCS.

conclusionLong-term anti-RBD/S1-antibody positivity was confirmed, and clinical parameters associated with declining titers were presented. A fulminant decrease in anti-SARS-CoV-2-anti-N antibodies was observed (mean change to maximum value 30 (±26)%). Anti-RBD/S1 antibody titers of SARS-CoV-2 recovered subjects boosted with a vaccine exceeded the maximum values measured after single infection by 235 ± 382-fold, with no influence on preexisting PCS. PCS long-term prevalence was 38.6%, with an increase in cognitive impairment compromising the quality of life. Quantified cfDNA measured in the early post-COVID-19 phase might not be an effective marker for PCS identification.

Indexed as

Cell-Free Nucleic AcidsCOVID-19Antibodies, ViralConvalescenceCOVID-19 VaccinesHumansImmunity, HumoralPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeQuality of LifeSARS-CoV-2Antibodies, ViralCell-Free Nucleic AcidsCOVID-19 Vaccinesantibody dynamicsantibody kineticsanti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodieslongitudinal assessmentpost-COVID syndromepost-vaccination boostingserological immune response

Identifiers

PMID36851668
PMCPMC9966735
OpenAlexW4319442068

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.