Cited by 232SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchAnimal Virus Infections Studiesvaccines and immunoinformatics approaches

Identification of human neutralizing antibodies against MERS-CoV and their role in virus adaptive evolution

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Tang, Xian-Chun, Agnihothram, Sudhakar S., Jiao, Yongjun, Stanhope, Jeremy, Graham, Rachel L., Peterson, Eric C., Avnir, Yuval, Tallarico, Aimee St. Clair +4 more·2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

The newly emerging Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-like disease with ∼43% mortality. Given the recent detection of virus in dromedary camels, zoonotic transfer of MERS-CoV to humans is suspected. In addition, little is known about the role of human neutralizing Ab (nAb) pressure as a driving force in MERS-CoV adaptive evolution. Here, we used a well-characterized nonimmune human Ab-phage library and a panning strategy with proteoliposomes and cells to identify seven human nAbs against the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the MERS-CoV Spike protein. These nAbs bind to three different epitopes in the RBD and human dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (hDPP4) interface with subnanomolar/nanomolar binding affinities and block the binding of MERS-CoV Spike protein with its hDPP4 receptor. Escape mutant assays identified five amino acid residues that are critical for neutralization escape. Despite the close proximity of the three epitopes on the RBD interface, escape from one epitope did not have a major impact on neutralization with Abs directed to a different epitope. Importantly, the majority of escape mutations had negative impacts on hDPP4 receptor binding and viral fitness. To our knowledge, these results provide the first report on human nAbs against MERS-CoV that may contribute to MERS-CoV clearance and evolution. Moreover, in the absence of a licensed vaccine or antiviral for MERS, this panel of nAbs offers the possibility of developing human mAb-based immunotherapy, especially for health-care workers.

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  • Most MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-1 neutralizing antibodies were directed to the Spike protein, in particular its receptor-binding domain.

    “most of the MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-1 neutralizing antibodies were directed to the S protein, in particular to its receptor-binding domain (RBD) [18,19]”

    From The dawn of mRNA vaccines: the COVID-19 case (2021) · cites this paper as [19]

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Authors
Tang, X.-C., Agnihothram, S. S., Jiao, Y., Stanhope, J., Graham, R. L., Peterson, E. C., Avnir, Y., Tallarico, A. S. C., Sheehan, J., Zhu, Q., Baric, R. S., & Marasco, W. A.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Departments of bMicrobiology and Immunology and
  • Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215; and
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Corresponding author
  • Tang, Xian-Chun
  • Agnihothram, Sudhakar S.
  • Graham, Rachel L.
  • Baric, Ralph S.
  • Marasco, Wayne A.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2014-04-28
Volume
111
Issue
19
Pages
E2018-26
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2170239105
Cited by
232
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 7
FWCI
20.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
  • UNC Libraries
Funders
  • Public Health England
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01AI085524)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Virus Infections Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches
Keywords
MERS-CoV, neutralizing antibodies, spike protein receptor-binding domain, antibody escape mutations, antibody phage display, epitope mapping, zoonotic transmission, Camelus dromedarius, monoclonal antibody therapy, viral fitness
MeSH terms
Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Antibodies, Viral, Antiviral Agents, Biological Evolution, Humans, Immunoglobulin G, Molecular Sequence Data, Phylogeny, Viral Vaccines, Zoonoses, Coronavirus, Coronavirus Infections, Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4, Communicable Diseases, Emerging, Antibodies, Neutralizing, HEK293 Cells, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus

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