Lopez Keyla P, Cool Konner R, Bold Dashzeveg, Gaudreault Natasha N, Roberts Bailey A, Maag Emma, Richt Juergen A, Pogranichniy Roman M
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
J Virol Methods. 2025 Apr;333:115099. doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2024.115099. Epub 2024 Dec 9.
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 raised concerns about the potential for interspecies transmission, particularly among domestic animals. We evaluated the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in domestic cats from various sites in North America. A total of 216 serum samples collected between December 2019 and February 2022, were analyzed using four different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), including a commercial surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT), a commercial double antigen test (dN ELISA), and two in-house developed indirect ELISAS based on receptor-binding domain (RBD iELISA) and the nucleocapsid (N iELISA) proteins, respectively. Seropositive samples in the commercial ELISAs were subject to virus neutralization test (cVNT) employing the Wuhan-like USA-WA1/2020 SARS-CoV-2 isolate. Our findings revealed that, 6 % (12/216) of the cat serum samples tested positive by the sVNT, while 4 % (9/216) tested positive for the dN-ELISA. Interestingly, the N iELISA showed a higher seroprevalence, with 31 % of the samples testing positive, possibly due to cross-reactive antibodies against the N protein of other coronavirus commonly found in cats. There was a high concordance between sVNT, cVNT, and RBD iELISA. Among positive sVNT cat serum samples, 75 % (9/12) exhibited neutralizing titers with all samples also being positive by RBD iELISA. Notably, the RBD iELISA and sVNT demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (100 and 79 %; 100 and 90 %, respectively). In conclusion, our study provides important insights into the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in domestic cats, highlighting the potential for interspecies transmission and the need for continued monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in animal populations.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的出现引发了人们对种间传播可能性的担忧，尤其是在家畜中。我们评估了北美不同地点家猫中SARS-CoV-2抗体的血清流行率。对2019年12月至2022年2月期间收集的总共216份血清样本，使用四种不同的酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）进行分析，包括一种商业替代病毒中和试验（sVNT）、一种商业双抗原试验（dN ELISA），以及两种分别基于受体结合域（RBD iELISA）和核衣壳（N iELISA）蛋白自行开发的间接ELISA。商业ELISA中的血清阳性样本采用类似武汉株的美国-WA1/2020 SARS-CoV-2分离株进行病毒中和试验（cVNT）。我们的研究结果显示，sVNT检测的猫血清样本中有6%（12/216）呈阳性，而dN-ELISA检测呈阳性的样本为4%（9/216）。有趣的是，N iELISA显示出更高的血清流行率，31%的样本检测呈阳性，这可能是由于猫体内常见的针对其他冠状病毒N蛋白的交叉反应抗体所致。sVNT、cVNT和RBD iELISA之间具有高度一致性。在sVNT检测呈阳性的猫血清样本中，75%（9/12）表现出中和效价，所有样本通过RBD iELISA检测也呈阳性。值得注意的是，RBD iELISA和sVNT在检测SARS-CoV-2抗体方面表现出高灵敏度和特异性（分别为100%和79%；100%和90%）。总之，我们的研究为家猫中SARS-CoV-2抗体的血清流行率提供了重要见解，突出了种间传播的可能性以及对动物群体中SARS-CoV-2持续监测的必要性。
