A new flow cytometry assay to measure antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity against SARS-CoV-2 Spike-expressing cells

Highlights

• A novel FACS-based assay to measure ADCC against SARS-CoV-2 Spike-expressing cells

• A cell line stably expressing a GFP-tagged SARS-CoV-2 Spike was generated

• This cell line is susceptible to antibody-mediated ADCC in a dose-dependent manner

• This assay can measure ADCC activity of plasma from infected/vaccinated individuals

Summary

Antibodies can engage specific receptors at the surface of effector cells and mediate several functions beyond viral neutralization. Increasing evidence suggests that Fc-mediated effector functions, such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), have an important role in protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. We engineered a cell line stably expressing a GFP-tagged SARS-CoV-2 spike to measure ADCC. This protocol provides an optimized way of measuring ADCC activity mediated by anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike monoclonal antibodies or plasma from previously infected or vaccinated individuals.

For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Anand et al. (2021b).