Immune Imprinting and Antibody Profiles to SARS-CoV-2 in Urban and Rural Ghana

Infections with SARS-CoV-2 and the development of immunity to the virus and its antigenic variants have been unevenly documented globally, with African populations particularly understudied. As SARS-CoV-2 transitions towards being an endemic pathogen, more nuanced understanding of immune protection in diverse populations is required. In 2023, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 1,000 Ghanaian residents to assess SARS-CoV-2 prevalence and antibody correlates of immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. We found an active SARS-CoV-2 infection rate of 1.3% and a 57% vaccination rate. We observed anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike plasma antibody sero-positivity of 98.7%, with urban compared to rural residents having higher anti-SARS-CoV-2 plasma and saliva antibody concentrations. Vaccinated and urban individuals exhibited significantly greater Spike-pseudotyped virus neutralization than nonvaccinated and rural individuals. Notably, plasma antibodies preferentially bound Wuhan-Hu-1 SARS-CoV-2 over Omicron Spike variants. Our findings indicate significant prior and ongoing SARS-CoV-2 transmission as well as immunological imprinting by Wuhan-Hu-1-like SARS-CoV-2 in Ghana.

Antigen and antibody data in this study were generated using electrochemiluminescence (ECL)-based Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) assays. This Mendeley dataset includes MSD Arbitrary Units derived from ECL data. Additionally, the dataset contains Spike-pseudotyped virus neutralization percentages and deidentified demographic information for the study participants, including town of residence, sex, and COVID-19 vaccination status. Age information has been excluded to maintain participant privacy.

全球范围内，严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）感染以及针对该病毒及其抗原变异株的免疫应答相关研究记录分布不均，非洲人群的相关研究尤为匮乏。随着SARS-CoV-2逐渐转为地方性流行病原体，学界亟需对不同人群的免疫保护机制形成更为精细化的认知。2023年，本研究团队开展了一项针对1000名加纳居民的横断面研究，旨在评估SARS-CoV-2的感染率以及针对SARS-CoV-2变异株的抗体免疫相关性指标。本研究测得SARS-CoV-2主动感染率为1.3%，人群疫苗接种率为57%。结果显示，受试者血浆中抗SARS-CoV-2刺突（Spike）抗体血清阳性率达98.7%，且城市居民的抗SARS-CoV-2血浆及唾液抗体浓度均显著高于农村居民。接种疫苗者与城市居民的刺突假病毒中和活性显著优于未接种者与农村居民。值得关注的是，相较于奥密克戎（Omicron）刺突变异株，受试者血浆抗体优先结合Wuhan-Hu-1株SARS-CoV-2。本研究结果表明，加纳地区已发生大规模既往及正在进行的SARS-CoV-2传播，且存在类Wuhan-Hu-1株SARS-CoV-2诱导的免疫印记现象。

本研究中的抗原与抗体数据均采用基于电化学发光（electrochemiluminescence, ECL）的梅索斯尺度发现（Meso Scale Discovery, MSD）检测平台生成。本孟德雷（Mendeley）数据集包含由ECL检测数据衍生得到的MSD任意单位（Arbitrary Units）数据，此外还收录了刺突假病毒中和百分比数据，以及经过去标识化处理的研究受试者人口统计学信息，包括居住城镇、性别以及COVID-19疫苗接种状态。为保护受试者隐私，年龄信息未纳入本数据集。