[HTML][HTML] H7N9 influenza virus neutralizing antibodies that possess few somatic mutations

NJ Thornburg, H Zhang, S Bangaru… - The Journal of …, 2016 - Am Soc Clin Investig
NJ Thornburg, H Zhang, S Bangaru, G Sapparapu, N Kose, RM Lampley, RG Bombardi…
The Journal of clinical investigation, 2016Am Soc Clin Investig
Avian H7N9 influenza viruses are group 2 influenza A viruses that have been identified as
the etiologic agent for a current major outbreak that began in China in 2013 and may pose a
pandemic threat. Here, we examined the human H7-reactive antibody response in 75
recipients of a monovalent inactivated A/Shanghai/02/2013 H7N9 vaccine. After 2 doses of
vaccine, the majority of donors had memory B cells that secreted IgGs specific for H7 HA,
with dominant responses against single HA subtypes, although frequencies of H7-reactive B …
Avian H7N9 influenza viruses are group 2 influenza A viruses that have been identified as the etiologic agent for a current major outbreak that began in China in 2013 and may pose a pandemic threat. Here, we examined the human H7-reactive antibody response in 75 recipients of a monovalent inactivated A/Shanghai/02/2013 H7N9 vaccine. After 2 doses of vaccine, the majority of donors had memory B cells that secreted IgGs specific for H7 HA, with dominant responses against single HA subtypes, although frequencies of H7-reactive B cells ranged widely between donors. We isolated 12 naturally occurring mAbs with low half-maximal effective concentrations for binding, 5 of which possessed neutralizing and HA-inhibiting activities. The 5 neutralizing mAbs exhibited narrow breadth of reactivity with influenza H7 strains. Epitope-mapping studies using neutralization escape mutant analysis, deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, and x-ray crystallography revealed that these neutralizing mAbs bind near the receptor-binding pocket on HA. All 5 neutralizing mAbs possessed low numbers of somatic mutations, suggesting the clones arose from naive B cells. The most potent mAb, H7.167, was tested as a prophylactic treatment in a mouse intranasal virus challenge study, and systemic administration of the mAb markedly reduced viral lung titers.
The Journal of Clinical Investigation