SARS CoV2 Serology

In a collaborative effort with the University Hospital Zürich, the Schertler group is spearheading efforts to establish a platform for large-scale screening of antibody profiles against SARS CoV2 antigens. PSI is producing a number of SARS CoV2 antigens, including all structural SARS CoV2 proteins as well as the main host receptor, which are then used by team of Adriano Aguzzi in a population-based high-throughput screening to investigate the antibody response against these antigens among COVID 19 survivors as well as within the general population. This information will then be used to identify (1) the time point when CoV2 established itself in Switzerland, (2) the true prevalence of subclinical infection, and discover (3) any extrapulmonary CoV2 pathogenicity (e.g. endocarditis, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, meningitis etc.), (4) specific immune responses predictive of disease severity, (5) pulmotoxic responses triggering cytokine storms in late disease, and (6) late-onset sequelae due to e.g. viral dormancy/reactivation and persistence in sanctuary organs.