The Anti-Nucleocapsid IgG Antibody as a Marker of SARS-CoV-2 Infection for Hemodialysis Patients

The Anti-Nucleocapsid IgG Antibody as a Marker of SARS-CoV-2 Infection for Hemodialysis Patients

<i><b>Background:</b></i> Hemodialysis patients, due to impaired kidney function and compromised immune responses, face increased risks from SARS-CoV-2. Anti-nucleocapsid IgG (anti-IgG N) antibodies are a commonly used marker to assess prior infection in the general populatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Akemi Hara, Shun Watanabe, Toyoaki Sawano, Yuki Sonoda, Hiroaki Saito, Akihiko Ozaki, Masatoshi Wakui, Tianchen Zhao, Chika Yamamoto, Yurie Kobashi, Toshiki Abe, Takeshi Kawamura, Akira Sugiyama, Aya Nakayama, Yudai Kaneko, Hiroaki Shimmura, Masaharu Tsubokura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Vaccines
Subjects:
COVID-19
renal dialysis
immunoglobulin G
nucleocapsid proteins
serologic tests
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/7/750
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:<i><b>Background:</b></i> Hemodialysis patients, due to impaired kidney function and compromised immune responses, face increased risks from SARS-CoV-2. Anti-nucleocapsid IgG (anti-IgG N) antibodies are a commonly used marker to assess prior infection in the general population; however, their efficacy for hemodialysis patients remains unclear. <i><b>Methods:</b></i> A retrospective study of 361 hemodialysis patients evaluated anti-IgG N antibodies for detecting prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Antibody levels were measured using a chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) over the four time points. Boxplots illustrated antibody distribution across sampling stages and infection status. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis determined diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and optimal cutoff values. <i><b>Results:</b></i> Among the 361 hemodialysis patients, 36 (10.0%) had SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sex distribution showed a trend toward significance (<i>p</i> = 0.05). Boxplot analysis showed that anti-IgG N levels remained low in non-infected patients but increased in infected patients, peaking at the third sampling. Anti-IgG N demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy (AUC: 0.973–0.865) but declined over time (<i>p</i> = 0.00525). The optimal cutoff at C1 was 0.01 AU/mL (sensitivity 1.00, specificity 0.94). Adjusted models had lower predictive value. <i><b>Conclusions:</b></i> Anti-IgG N antibodies showed high diagnostic accuracy for detecting prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in hemodialysis patients, though performance declined over time. These findings highlight the need for tailored diagnostic strategies in this vulnerable population.
ISSN:2076-393X

Similar Items