Cited by 1,326Influenza Virus Research Studiesvaccines and immunoinformatics approachesMonoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research

Antibody Recognition of a Highly Conserved Influenza Virus Epitope

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Ekiert, Damian C., Bhabha, Gira, Elsliger, Marc-André, Friesen, Robert H. E., Jongeneelen, Mandy, Throsby, Mark, Goudsmit, Jaap, Wilson, Ian A.·2009·Science

Abstract

Influenza virus presents an important and persistent threat to public health worldwide, and current vaccines provide immunity to viral isolates similar to the vaccine strain. High-affinity antibodies against a conserved epitope could provide immunity to the diverse influenza subtypes and protection against future pandemic viruses. Cocrystal structures were determined at 2.2 and 2.7 angstrom resolutions for broadly neutralizing human antibody CR6261 Fab in complexes with the major surface antigen (hemagglutinin, HA) from viruses responsible for the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic and a recent lethal case of H5N1 avian influenza. In contrast to other structurally characterized influenza antibodies, CR6261 recognizes a highly conserved helical region in the membrane-proximal stem of HA1 and HA2. The antibody neutralizes the virus by blocking conformational rearrangements associated with membrane fusion. The CR6261 epitope identified here should accelerate the design and implementation of improved vaccines that can elicit CR6261-like antibodies, as well as antibody-based therapies for the treatment of influenza.

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  • The HA stem region is highly conserved across all influenza A subtypes, and targeting this region can block the low-pH-induced conformational rearrangements associated with membrane fusion, which is essential for virus infection.

    “The HA stem region is an attractive therapeutic epitope as it is highly conserved across all influenza A subtypes, and targeting this region can block the low-pH-induced conformational rearrangements associated with membrane fusion, which is essential for virus infection32,33.”

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  1. [40]definitions after CDR Chothia C J Mol Biol 1992 227 799 1404389
  2. [45]Barbey-Martin C Virology 2002 294 70 11886266
  3. [51]Description of the analyzed sequence dataset: A total of 5261 clones comprising all full-length, non-redundant influenza A hemagglutinin protein sequences were analyzed. Only lab strains were excluded from the analysis, to avoid the effects of any mutations involved in adaption to culture in vitro. The dataset included 854 H1, 125 H2, 1582 H3, 144 H4, 1384 H5, 261 H6, 359 H7, 17 H8, 334 H9, 59 H10, 71 H11, 25 H12, 26 H13, 2 H14, 5 H15, and 13 H16 sequences. Details of the methods used for analysis are available in the Supporting Online Material. Sequences were retrieved from the URL listed below on January 14, 2009. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genomes/FLU/FLU.html
  4. [59]Smirnov YA Acta Virol 1999 43 237 10749369

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Authors
Ekiert, D. C., Bhabha, G., Elsliger, M.-A., Friesen, R. H. E., Jongeneelen, M., Throsby, M., Goudsmit, J., & Wilson, I. A.
Affiliations
  • Scripps Research Institute (US)
  • Department of Molecular Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Corresponding author
Wilson, Ian A.
Venue
Science
Published
2009-04-10
Volume
324
Issue
5924
Pages
246-251
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2152617913
Cited by
1,326
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 42 · 2025: 51 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 73 · 2020: 86 · 2019: 66 · 2018: 75 · 2017: 72 · 2016: 81 · 2015: 90 · 2014: 93 · 2013: 133 · 2012: 110
FWCI
70.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Cancer Institute (Y1-CO-1020)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (Y1-GM-1104, U54GM074898)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (P01AI058113, AI058113)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Influenza Virus Research Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research
Keywords
influenza virus, broadly neutralizing antibodies, hemagglutinin, conserved epitopes, H5N1 avian influenza, antibody-antigen complex structure, vaccine design, antibody-based therapy
MeSH terms
Antibodies, Viral, Antibody Affinity, Epitopes, Antigens, Viral, Binding Sites, Antibody, Crystallization, Glycosylation, Humans, Hydrogen Bonding, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments, Influenza Vaccines, Membrane Fusion, Models, Molecular, Neutralization Tests, Protein Conformation, Protein Structure, Secondary, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Crystallography, X-Ray, Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus, Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype, Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype, Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions

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