SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing serum antibodies in cats: a serological investigation

  1. Qiang Zhang
  2. Huajun Zhang
  3. Kun Huang
  4. Yong Yang
  5. Xianfeng Hui
  6. Jindong Gao
  7. Xinglin He
  8. Chengfei Li
  9. Wenxiao Gong
  10. Yufei Zhang
  11. Cheng Peng
  12. Xiaoxiao Gao
  13. Huanchun Chen
  14. Zhong Zou
  15. Zhengli Shi
  16. Meilin Jin

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Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in Wuhan, China, and rapidly spread worldwide. Previous studies suggested cat could be a potential susceptible animal of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we investigated the infection of SARS-CoV-2 in cats by detecting specific serum antibodies. A cohort of serum samples were collected from cats in Wuhan, including 102 sampled after COVID-19 outbreak, and 39 prior to the outbreak. 15 of 102 (14.7%) cat sera collected after the outbreak were positive for the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 by indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among the positive samples, 11 had SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies with a titer ranging from 1/20 to 1/1080. No serological cross-reactivity was detected between the SARS-CoV-2 and type I or II feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). Our data demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 has infected cat population in Wuhan during the outbreak.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.04.01.021196: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementThe convalescent serum of a COVID-19 patient was collected from Jiangxia Tongji hospital with the consent of the patient and a neutralization titer 1/1280 .Randomizationnot detected.Blindingnot detected.Power Analysisnot detected.Sex as a biological variablenot detected.Cell Line Authenticationnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Antibodies
    SentencesResources
    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Antibody was tested by indirect ELISA with the SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein (Sino Biological Inc., China) and peroxidase conjugated goat anti-cat IgG (Sigma-Aldrich, USA).
    anti-cat IgG
    suggested: None
    Experimental Models: Cell Lines
    SentencesResources
    Vero E6 cells in 24-well plates were inoculated with the sera-virus mixture at 37°C; 1 h later, the mixture was replaced with DMEM containing 2.5% FBS and 0.8% carboxymethylcellulose.
    Vero E6
    suggested: None

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    About SciScore

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  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.04.01.021196v1 on bioRxiv