Rapid and cost-effective process based on insect larvae for scale-up production of SARS-COV-2 spike protein for serological COVID-19 testing

SMITH, IGNACIO; MC CALLUM, GREGORIO JUAN; SABLJIC, ADRIANA VICTORIA; MARFIA, JUAN IGNACIO; BOMBICINO, SILVINA SONIA; TRABUCCHI, ALDANA; IACONO, RUBEN FRANCISCO; BIRENBAUM, JOAQUÍN MANUEL; VAZQUEZ, SUSANA CLAUDIA; MINOIA, JUAN MAURICIO; CASCONE, OSVALDO; LÓPEZ, MARÍA GABRIELA; TABOGA, OSCAR; TARGOVNIK, ALEXANDRA MARISA; WOLMAN, FEDERICO JAVIER; FINGERMANN, MATÍAS; ALONSO, LEONARDO GABRIEL; VALDEZ, SILVINA NOEMÍ; MIRANDA, MARÍA VICTORIA

BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Año: 2021 vol. 118 p. 4129 - 4137

0006-3592

Serology testing for COVID-19 is important in evaluating active immune response against SARS-CoV-2, studying the antibody kinetics, and monitoring reinfections with genetic variants and new virus strains, in particular, the duration of antibodies in virus-exposed individuals and vaccine-mediated immunity. In this study, recombinant S protein of SARS-CoV-2 was expressed in Rachiplusia nu, an important agronomic plague. One gram of insect larvae produces an amount of S protein sufficient for 150 determinations in the ELISA method herein developed. We established a rapid production process for SARS-CoV-2 S protein that showed immunoreactivity for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and was used as a single antigen for developing the ELISA method with high sensitivity (96.2%) and specificity (98.8%). Our findings provide an efficient and cost-effective platform for large-scale S protein production, and the scale-up is linear, thus avoiding the use of complex equipment like bioreactors.