Abstract
Endemic human coronaviruses (hCoVs) are common causative agents of respiratory tract infections, affecting especially children. However, in the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, children are the least affected age-group. The objective of this study was to investigate the magnitude of endemic hCoVs antibodies in Finnish children and adults, and pre-pandemic antibody cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV-2. Antibody levels against endemic hCoVs start to rise at a very early age, reaching to overall 100% seroprevalence. No difference in the antibody levels was detected for OC43 but the magnitude of 229E-specific antibodies was significantly higher in the sera of children. OC43 and 229E hCoV antibody levels of children correlated significantly with each other and with the level of cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, whereas these correlations completely lacked in adults. Although none of the sera showed SARS-CoV-2 neutralization, the higher overall hCoV cross-reactivity observed in children might, at least partially, contribute in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection in this population.
Keywords: 229E; Coronavirus; Cross-reactivity; OC43; SARS-CoV-2; Serology.
【저자키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, serology, cross-reactivity, OC43, 229E, 【초록키워드】 serology, antibody, SARS-COV-2 infection, SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, children, Respiratory tract infections, cross-reactivity, Adults, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, sera, HCoV, age, antibody levels, respiratory, correlation, OC43, SARS-CoV-2 neutralization, antibody level, specific antibodies, 229E, Endemic, cross-reactive, causative agents, antibody cross-reactivity, no difference, HCoVs, endemic HCoVs, endemic human coronaviruses, human coronavirus, Finnish, affected, significantly, contribute, correlated, magnitude, significantly higher, affecting, 【제목키워드】 coronavirus, antibody, children, Seroprevalence, Endemic, Finnish,