For patients

In a collaboration project between MedUni Wien Biobank, Biobank Graz and researchers from several clinical departments of the Medical Universities of Graz and Vienna, short-term and long-term storage stabilities of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were evaluated using samples from Biobanks Graz COVID-19 Convalescent Cohort the Biobank's SARS-CoV-2 cohorts.

Moreover, the authors highlighted the problems with evaluating long-term storage effects, as the evaluation tool (the analytical test itself) also changes over time, which introduces additional analytical imprecision and leads to overestimation of the pre-analytical variability.

Publication: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/cclm-2022-0875/html

Project leader: Dr. Tobias Niedrist, Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics; Priv.-Doz. Mag. DDr. Helmuth Haslacher, Department of Laboratory Medicine MedUni Wien

• The first publication describes the data from 326 participants (61.7% female) that were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and had a mild course of COVID-19 without hospitalization. A large number of the participants (66.9%) still had symptoms like fatigue, dysgeusia, ageusia, headache, shortness of breath etc. 38 days (median) after infection. Our results indicate a strong and persistent immune response against SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals who recovered from a mild course of COVID-19 for up to 8 months post infection. Furthermore we could indicate, that  participants, who suffered from typical symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste and ageusia or comorbidities, show higher antibody levels after infection than participants who suffered from milder symptomatic or had no comorbidities.
• Publication: https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(21)00419-9/fulltext
• Project leaders: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Robert Krause, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine; Univ.-Prof. DI Dr. Andrea Berghold, Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation; Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. Peter Schlenke, ; Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ivo Steinmetz, Diagnostic and Research Institute of Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine; Univ.-Prof. Dr. Markus Herrmann, Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics

• Using sera from individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, we succeeded in developing a novel SARS-CoV-2 antibody test. The assay determines virus neutralizing antibody titers already within 24 hours. It thereby overcomes the major limitation of previous detection methods, namely a much longer time to result. With our assay it is possible to detect virus neutralizing antibodies after infection as well as those produced after vaccination. Since the assay can be applied for all virus variants, it can be used to quickly determine if neutralizing antibodies against new virus variants are present in an individual.
• Publication: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.00376-22
• Project leader: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ivo Steinmetz, Diagnostic and Research Institute of Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine

• In this project, the metabolic effects of a SARS-CoV-2 infection on human biological fluids are characterized using metabolic phenotyping with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The goal is to identify and validate a metabolic biomarker for the progression of COVID-19 in order to better predict the risk for disease progression. It is planned to extend the investigations in connection with the coronavirus vaccine.
• Project leader: Assoz.-Prof. Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Tobias Madl, Gottfried Schatz Research Center for Cell Signaling, Metabolism and Aging, Division of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

• The aim of this study was to investigate, whether a sorbitol/lecithin-based throat spray containing concentrated green tea extract (sGTE) interacts with SARS-CoV-2 viral particles and additionally is capable to block the virus replication. The findings of this study suggest that sGTE has strong activity on SARS-CoV-2 independent from the strain (Wuhan strain, beta- or delta-variants). sGTE might be relevant for reduction of corresponding viral infections when periodically applied to mouth and throat.
• Publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35144138/ 
• Project leader: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kurt Zatloukal, Diagnostic & Research Institute of Pathology

• Numerous SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests are now available. Although the individual methods are designed very differently, in everyday life people often only speak of "COVID antibodies" or the "COVID antibody test". This study compared six commonly used laboratory tests to determine antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The used study collective comprised 954 blood samples taken from 315 participants of the “COVID-19 Convalescent Cohort”. The tests showed serious differences and sometimes even contradictory results.
• Publication: https://meridian.allenpress.com/aplm/article/146/5/538/477161/Longitudinal-Comparison-of-Automated-SARS-CoV-2
• Project leader: Univ. Prof. Dr. Markus Herrmann, Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics

• Previous studies indicated that individuals with blood type O, possessing naturally anti-A and anti-B antibodies, are underrepresented among patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 compared with healthy controls. The ABO antibodies might play a role in the viral transmission. ABO antibody titers vary widely between individuals. In this study, a possible influence of anti-A and anti-B on infection with SARS-CoV-2 was examined. ABO antibodies were determined by flow cytometry in serum and saliva samples of COVID-19 convalescents at two different time points. ABO antibody levels were compared with levels in individuals (blood donors) who had never been infected with SARS-CoV-2. Serum levels of anti-A and anti-B antibodies (IgM, IgG and IgA isotypes) were consistently lower in COVID-19 convalescents than in controls. This suggests that individual preexisting high ABO antibody levels may be protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• Publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35956128/
• Project leaders: Dr.ⁱⁿ Eva-Maria Matzhold, Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Thomas Wagner, MA, Department of Blood Group Serology and Transfusion Medicine

• In this study we investigated the immune response in people with diabetes following a COVID-19 vaccination. We demonstrated that the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were comparable in healthy controls and in participants with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, irrespective of the type of diabetes and glycaemic control. We observed age and renal function to be significantly correlated with the antibody levels. Research projects investigating cellular immune response are currently ongoing.
• Publication: https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dom.14643
• Project leader: Univ.-Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Harald Sourij, MBA, Klinische Abteilung für Endokrinologie und Diabetologie, Trials Unit für Interdisziplinäre Metabolische Medizin

• Individuals, who have a weakened immune system due to a disease or medical treatment, are at higher risk to become severely ill when having COVID-19. Studies showed that these patients have also a poor response to vaccination. This study investigated the immune response after COVID-19 mRNA vaccinations. Results of 120 individuals with weakened immune system were compared with 79 individuals from a healthy control group. It was shown, that the concentration or the presence of B-cell subtypes, especially the naïve B cells prior to the first vaccination has a significant correlation with the measured immune response 21 days after the second vaccination. (Naïve B cells are B cells that have not had contact with an extraneous structure yet.) Furthermore, the data show that the interval between the last B cell depleting therapies (removal of B cells e.g. treatment B cell lymphoma) and the COVID-19 vaccination should be at least 4 months to allow a sufficient antibody response. In future, the amount of naïve B cells could be a predictor for antibody production and the success of a COVID-19 vaccination.
• Publication: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.803742/full
• Project leader: Assoz. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Martin Stradner, Klinische Abteilung für Rheumatologie und Immunologie

• Patients with autoimmune diseases receiving intensive immunosuppressive therapies, like so-called B-cell-depletion, have a higher risk for infections and severe COVID-19 courses. These patients are not able to produce proper amounts of protecting antibodies after vaccination. Thus, we investigated whether they still benefit from COVID-19 vaccinations by establishing a protection with different kinds of T cells (specialized cells of the immune system). We discovered that these patients show distinct T cellular reactions. However, these reactions differ in some parameters from those of the healthy controls and the interplay of the involved cell types seems to be less precisely coordinated.
• Publication:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36681177/
• Project leader: Assoz. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Martin Stradner, Dr. med. univ. Isabel Hodl, Division of Rheumatology and Immunology