Unified platform for genetic and serological detection of COVID-19 with single-molecule technology

Noa Furth; Shay Shilo; Niv Cohen; Nir Erez; Vadim Fedyuk; Alexander M Schrager; Adina Weinberger; Amiel A Dror; Asaf Zigron; Mona Shehadeh; Eyal Sela; Samer Srouji; Sharon Amit; Itzchak Levy; Eran Segal; Rony Dahan; Dan Jones; Daniel C Douek; Efrat Shema

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0255096

Unified platform for genetic and serological detection of COVID-19 with single-molecule technology

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 26;16(7):e0255096. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255096. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Noa Furth¹, Shay Shilo¹, Niv Cohen¹, Nir Erez¹, Vadim Fedyuk¹, Alexander M Schrager², Adina Weinberger³, Amiel A Dror^{4

5}, Asaf Zigron^{5

6}, Mona Shehadeh^{5

7}, Eyal Sela^{4

5}, Samer Srouji^{5

6}, Sharon Amit⁸, Itzchak Levy^{8

9}, Eran Segal³, Rony Dahan¹⁰, Dan Jones¹¹, Daniel C Douek², Efrat Shema¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
² Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of America.
³ Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
⁴ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Galilee Medical Center, Nahariya, Israel.
⁵ The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel.
⁶ Oral and Maxillofacial Department, Galilee Medical Center, Nahariya, Israel.
⁷ Clinical Laboratories Division, Clinical Biochemistry and Endocrinology Laboratory, Galilee Medical Center, Naharia, Israel.
⁸ Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.
⁹ Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv university, Tel Aviv, Israel.
¹⁰ Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
¹¹ SeqLL, Woburn, MA, United States of America.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic raises the need for diverse diagnostic approaches to rapidly detect different stages of viral infection. The flexible and quantitative nature of single-molecule imaging technology renders it optimal for development of new diagnostic tools. Here we present a proof-of-concept for a single-molecule based, enzyme-free assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2. The unified platform we developed allows direct detection of the viral genetic material from patients' samples, as well as their immune response consisting of IgG and IgM antibodies. Thus, it establishes a platform for diagnostics of COVID-19, which could also be adjusted to diagnose additional pathogens.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Viral / blood
Base Sequence
COVID-19 / blood
COVID-19 / diagnosis*
COVID-19 / immunology
COVID-19 / virology
COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing / methods*
COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing / standards
COVID-19 Serological Testing / methods*
COVID-19 Serological Testing / standards
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Humans
Immune Sera / chemistry
Immunoglobulin G / blood
Immunoglobulin M / blood
Nasopharynx / virology
Polyproteins / blood
Polyproteins / genetics
RNA, Viral / blood
RNA, Viral / genetics
SARS-CoV-2 / genetics
SARS-CoV-2 / immunology*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Single Molecule Imaging / instrumentation
Single Molecule Imaging / methods*
Viral Proteins / blood
Viral Proteins / genetics*

Substances

Antibodies, Viral
Immune Sera
Immunoglobulin G
Immunoglobulin M
ORF1ab polyprotein, SARS-CoV-2
Polyproteins
RNA, Viral
Viral Proteins

Grants and funding

N.F. is supported by the Israel Cancer Research Fund. E.S. is an incumbent of the Lisa and Jeffrey Aronin Family Career Development chair. This research was supported by internal grants of the Weizmann Institute of Science, as well as Quinquin Foundation, The Benoziyo Fund for the Advancement of Science, The Sagol Institute for Longevity Research and The Willner Family Center for Vascular Biology.