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. 2021 Mar 7:jiab127. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab127

Sex differences in the evolution of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2

Ludivine Grzelak 1,2,2, Aurélie Velay 3,4,2, Yoann Madec 5,2, Floriane Gallais 3,4, Isabelle Staropoli 1, Catherine Schmidt-Mutter 6, Marie-Josée Wendling 3,4, Nicolas Meyer 7, Cyril Planchais 8, David Rey 9, Hugo Mouquet 8, Nathalie Reix 10, Ludovic Glady 10, Yves Hansmann 11, Timothée Bruel 1, Jérome De Séze 6,12, Arnaud Fontanet 5, Maria Gonzalez 13, Olivier Schwartz 1,14,3,, Samira Fafi-Kremer 3,4,3
PMCID: PMC7989436  PMID: 33693749

Abstract

We measured Anti-Spike (S), Nucleoprotein (N) and neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in sera from 308 RT-qPCR + healthcare workers with mild disease, collected at two time-points up to 6 months after symptom onset. At Month 1 (M1), anti-S and N antibody levels were higher in males > 50 years or with a body mass index (BMI) > 25. At M3-6, anti-S and anti-N antibodies were detected in 99% and 59% of individuals, respectively. Anti-S antibodies and NAbs declined faster in males than in females, independently of age and BMI, suggesting an association of sex with evolution of the humoral response.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, antibodies, sex-related differences, COVID-19


Articles from The Journal of Infectious Diseases are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

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