Evaluation of lateral flow and ELISA techniques for detecting IgG and IgM antibodies in COVID-19 cases in Turkiye

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Arikan A., Doluca O., AKHAN S., Sanlidag T., SAYAN M.

EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN HEALTH JOURNAL, vol.29, no.2, pp.91-99, 2023 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 29 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.26719/emhj.23.011
  • Journal Name: EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN HEALTH JOURNAL
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, EMBASE, Index Islamicus, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.91-99
  • Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, lateral flow assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, antibody
  • Kocaeli University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background: Antibody testing can complement molecular assays for detecting COVID-19.Aims: We evaluated the concurrence between lateral flow assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).Methods: The study was conducted at Kocaeli University, Turkiye. We used a lateral flow assay and ELISA to test serum samples from COVID-19 cases, confirmed by polymerase chain reaction assays (study group) and pre-pandemic stored serum samples (control group). We used Deming regression to evaluate the antibody measurements.Results: The study group included 100 COVID-19 cases, and the control group included pre-pandemic samples from 156 individuals. The lateral flow assay detected immunoglobulin M (IgM) and G (IgG) antibodies in 35 and 37 study group samples. ELISA detected IgM nucleocapsid (N) antibodies in 18 samples, and IgG (N) and IgG spike 1 (S1) antibodies in 31 and 29 samples, respectively. None of the techniques detected antibodies in the control samples. Strong correlations were found between lateral flow IgG (N+ receptor-binding domain + S1) and ELISA IgG (S) (r = 0.93, P < 0.01) and ELISA IgG (N) (r = 0.81, P < 0.01). Weaker correlations were seen between ELISA IgG S and IgG N (r = 0.79, P < 0.01) and lateral flow assay and ELISA IgM (N) (r = 0.70, P < 0.01).Conclusion: Lateral flow assay and ELISA techniques gave consistent results for IgG/IgM antibody measurements towards spike and nucleocapsid proteins, suggesting that both methods can be used to detect COVID-19 where access to molecular test kits is difficult.