Longevity of anti‐spike and anti‐nucleocapsid antibodies after COVID‐19 in solid organ transplant recipients compared to immunocompetent controls

Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are on lifelong immunosuppression, which may interfere with adaptive immunity to COVID‐19. The data on dynamics and duration of antibody response in SOTRs are limited. This longitudinal study examined the longevity of both anti‐spike (S)‐ and anti‐nucleocapsid (N)‐specific IgG antibodies after COVID‐19 in SOTRs compared to matched immunocompetent persons. SOTRs (n = 65) were matched with controls (n = 65) for COVID‐19 disease severity, age, and sex in order of priority. Serum‐IgG antibodies against N and S antigens of SARS‐CoV‐2 were analyzed. At 1 and 9 months after COVID‐19, anti‐S‐IgG detectability decreased from 91% to 82% in SOTRs versus 100% to 95% in controls, whereas the anti‐N‐IgG decreased from 63% to 29% in SOTRs versus 89% to 46% in controls. A matched paired analysis showed SOTRs having significantly lower levels of anti‐N‐IgG at all time points (1 month p = .007, 3 months p