Development of Lateral Flow Assays to detect neutralizing antibodies to monitor immunity status of Canadians

加拿大生物技术公司Audacia Biosciences和Trant博士在温莎大学的研究团队将合作开发一种新的、易于使用、可批量生产和快速反应的COVID-19检测方法，以确定谁对该疾病具有免疫力。对COVID-19的免疫力可以通过接种疫苗或事先接触导致该疾病的SARS-CoV-2病毒而产生，但我们正在了解到，再次感染是可能的，我们知道疫苗不会100%有效。一般来说，冠状病毒不会产生持久的免疫反应，SARS-CoV-2也不太可能是个例外。这意味着，随着病毒在未来几年继续在人群中传播，特别是一旦接种了疫苗，我们将希望监测我们的免疫状态，以确定我们是否需要加强注射，还是需要不同的疫苗。临床试验中的大多数疫苗都是通过让我们的身体发起针对病毒刺突蛋白的免疫反应来起作用的，部分是通过中和抗体的存在来实现的，这些抗体会吸附刺突蛋白，阻止它帮助病毒进入我们的细胞。研究合作正在寻求利用这种常见的作用方法来开发一种测试，在概念上类似于家庭妊娠测试（也使用抗体），可以确定这些保护性抗体是否以及有多少在循环。这对我们恢复更大程度的正常状态至关重要，并将帮助我们保护社会中更脆弱的成员。因此，这个项目不仅提高了加拿大公司的商业利益，创造了一个全球相关的测试，而且为加拿大提供了非常重要的社会效益。

Audacia Biosciences, a Canadian Biotechnology company, and Dr. Trant's research team at the University of Windsor, will be collaborating on generating a new, simple to use, mass producible, and fast-response, COVID-19 test to determine who is immune from the disease. Immunity to COVID-19 can arise either through vaccination or through prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, but we are learning that reinfection is possible, and we know that vaccines will not be 100% effective. Coronaviruses in general do not generate a long-lasting immune response, and it is unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 will be an exception. This means that as the virus continues to spread in the population in the coming years, and especially once vaccines are deployed, we will want to monitor our immune status to determine if we need a booster shot, or need a different vaccine. Most vaccines in clinical trials will work by getting our bodies to initiate an immune response against the virus' spike protein, partially through the presence of neutralizing antibodies that enrobe the Spike and prevent it from helping the virus enter our cells. The research collaboration is looking to take advantage of this common method of action to develop a test, similar in concept to an at-home pregnancy test (that also uses antibodies), that can determine whether and how many of these protective antibodies are circulating. This will be essential for us to return to greater normalcy and will help us protect more vulnerable members of society. This project, consequently, not only advances the business interests of a Canadian company to create a globally-relevant test, but also provides a very important social benefit to Canada.