review · Frontiers in Immunology
Neutralising antibodies are vital components of humoral immunity that prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection by blocking viral entry into host cells. Beyond direct neutralisation, these antibodies can work alongside immune cells such as natural killer cells and phagocytes to target viruses that evade neutralisation. In clinical practice, antibodies offer utility across diagnosis, severity assessment, prognosis evaluation, and targeted therapeutic or prophylactic interventions. Measuring neutralising antibody levels supports the evaluation of individual and herd immunity, the monitoring of vaccine effectiveness, and the identification of optimal donors for convalescent plasma therapy. While these antibodies show significant utility in disease management and protection, translating them into clinical settings involves distinct practical challenges. Understanding these protective mechanisms and functional roles aids in developing solutions for antibody-based therapies, preventative measures, and vaccination strategies.
Neutralising antibodies provide essential defence mechanisms against viral infection and serve as versatile clinical tools. Understanding how these antibodies function aids the evaluation of vaccine protection and patient immunity. Moreover, clear insights into their clinical applications support more effective strategies for diagnosing, monitoring, and treating viral diseases, while addressing the operational challenges that arise when introducing antibody-based healthcare solutions.
The work points towards applications in diagnostic assays, antibody therapeutics, vaccine assessment tools, and convalescent plasma screening protocols. Potential users include clinical laboratories, biopharmaceutical developers, and healthcare providers managing viral outbreaks. Because this work reviews existing mechanisms alongside clinical challenges and solutions, the associated technologies span from established diagnostic and therapeutic applications to earlier-stage developments that require solutions to specific implementation barriers.
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Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) are central players in the humoral immunity that defends the body from SARS-CoV-2 infection by blocking viral entry into host cells and neutralizing their biological effects. Even though NAbs primarily work by neutralizing viral antigens, on some occasions, they may also combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus escaping neutralization by employing several effector mechanisms in collaboration with immune cells like natural killer (NK) cells and phagocytes. Besides their prophylactic and therapeutic roles, antibodies can be used for COVID-19 diagnosis, severity evaluation, and prognosis assessment in clinical practice. Furthermore, the measurement of NAbs could have key implications in determining individual or herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2, vaccine effectiveness, and duration of the humoral protective response, as well as aiding in the selection of suitable individuals who can donate convalescent plasma to treat infected people. Despite all these clinical applications of NAbs, using them in clinical settings can present some challenges. This review discusses the protective functions, possible protective mechanisms against SARS-CoV-2, and potential clinical applications of NAbs in COVID-19. This article also highlights the possible challenges and solutions associated with COVID-19 antibody-based prophylaxis, therapy, and vaccination.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1055457
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