Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Feb 20;48(2):339-349.e5.
doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2018.01.005. Epub 2018 Feb 3.

Infants Infected with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Generate Potent Neutralizing Antibodies that Lack Somatic Hypermutation

Eileen Goodwin  1 , Morgan S A Gilman  2 , Daniel Wrapp  2 , Man Chen  3 , Joan O Ngwuta  3 , Syed M Moin  3 , Patricia Bai  4 , Arvind Sivasubramanian  1 , Ruth I Connor  4 , Peter F Wright  5 , Barney S Graham  3 , Jason S McLellan  6 , Laura M Walker  7
Affiliations

Infants Infected with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Generate Potent Neutralizing Antibodies that Lack Somatic Hypermutation

Eileen Goodwin et al. Immunity. .

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of infant mortality, and there are currently no licensed vaccines to protect this vulnerable population. A comprehensive understanding of infant antibody responses to natural RSV infection would facilitate vaccine development. Here, we isolated more than 450 RSV fusion glycoprotein (F)-specific antibodies from 7 RSV-infected infants and found that half of the antibodies recognized only two antigenic sites. Antibodies targeting both sites showed convergent sequence features, and structural studies revealed the molecular basis for their recognition of RSV F. A subset of antibodies targeting one of these sites displayed potent neutralizing activity despite lacking somatic mutations, and similar antibodies were detected in RSV-naive B cell repertoires, suggesting that expansion of these B cells in infants may be possible with suitably designed vaccine antigens. Collectively, our results provide fundamental insights into infant antibody responses and a framework for the rational design of age-specific RSV vaccines.

Keywords: IGHV3-11:IGLV1-40; IGHV3-21:IGLV1-40; crystal structures; germline; naive B cells; pneumoviridae.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

L.M.W. is an inventor on pending patent applications describing the RSV antibodies (“Anti-respiratory syncytial virus antibodies, and methods of their generation and use,” USSN 62/411,500, USSN 62/411,508, and USSN 62/411,510). M.C., J.S.M., and B.S.G. are inventors on a patent entitled “Prefusion RSV F proteins and their use,” (US patent No. 9,738,689). L.M.W., A.S., and E.G. have an equity position in Adimab LLC.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Anti-RSV F antibodies isolated from infant B cells display limited SHM and biased V-gene usage
(A) Representative flow plot of the RSV F-specific B cell response in an infant < 3 mo. B cells were gated on CD14− CD8− CD3− CD19+ CD20+ before sorting on double-positive staining with dual-labeled RSV F probes. RSV F-specific B cells are in the upper-right quadrant. Results are representative of at least two independent experiments. (B) Representative flow plot of the RSV F-specific B cell response in an infant ≥ 6 mo. B cells were gated on CD14− CD8− CD3− CD19+ CD20+ and IgG+ or IgA+ prior to sorting on double-positive staining with dual-labeled RSV F probes. RSV F-specific class-switched B cells are in the upper-right quadrant. Results are representative of at least two independent experiments. (C) Index sort analysis of surface markers expressed on B cells from which RSV F-reactive antibodies were isolated. Infants are ordered from youngest to oldest at the time of hospitalization, left to right. (D) Number of VH nucleotide substitutions for antibodies isolated from RSV F-specific class-switched B cells. Infants are ordered from youngest to oldest, left to right. Red bars indicate medians. (E) Heat map of V-gene usage for all infants. Genes for which no VH:VL pairs were utilized in ≥ 0.5% of antibodies are omitted for clarity. See also Figure S1 and Table S2.
Figure 2
Figure 2. A subset of RSV F-specific infant antibodies binds with high affinity to RSV F and neutralizes RSV
(A) Apparent (IgG) affinity of each antibody for preF (left). Percentage of antibodies with indicated affinities for preF (right). Infants are ordered from youngest to oldest, left to right. Coloring corresponds to the legend shown in (B). N.D., not determined; N.B., non-binding. Results are representative of at least two independent experiments. (B) Same as (A), except that binding is to postF. (C) Neutralization potency (IC50) of each antibody (left). Percentage of antibodies with indicated neutralization potencies (right). Red, purple, and blue dotted lines indicate the IC50 values for motavizumab, MPE8 and D25, respectively. N.N., non-neutralizing. Results are derived from a single experiment performed in duplicate. (D) Affinities for postF plotted against affinities for preF, colored by neutralization potency, for antibodies isolated from infants < 3 mo. (left) and infants ≥ 6 mo. (right). See also Figure S2 and Table S2.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Infant responses are focused toward two antigenic sites with different neutralization sensitivities
(A) The preF structure with two protomers displayed as gray molecular surfaces and one protomer displayed as ribbons colored according to antigenic site. (B) Percentage of antibodies directed against each antigenic site, colored as in (A). Infants are ordered from youngest to oldest, left to right. (C) Percentage of antibodies directed against each antigenic site—grouped according to neutralization potency—isolated from infants < 3 mo. (left) and infants ≥ 6 mo. (right). N.D., not determined; N.N., non-neutralizing. See also Figure S3 and Table S2.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Germline antibodies that target antigenic site III can potently neutralize RSV and are present in the naïve B cell repertoire
(A) Neutralization potency (IC50) of antibodies lacking V-gene nucleotide substitutions, grouped by antigenic site. IC50 values for motavizumab, MPE8, and D25 are shown with red, purple and blue dotted lines, respectively. N.N., non-neutralizing. No site Ø-directed antibodies lacking somatic hypermutation were isolated. Results are derived from a single experiment performed in duplicate. (B) Index sort analysis of surface markers expressed on B cells from which RSV F-reactive antibodies were isolated for infants < 3 mo. Percentage of RSV F-specific antibodies derived from B cells with each surface phenotype is shown for all antibodies, neutralizing antibodies that lack somatic mutations (Germline neut.), and neutralizing antibodies that contain somatic mutations (Mutated neut.). (C) Fraction of RSV F-reactive naïve B cells that utilized VH3-21:VL1-40 or VH3-11:VL1-40 gene pairing isolated from the cord blood of four donors (top) and peripheral blood of two adult donors (bottom). Naïve B cells were defined as CD14− CD8− CD3− CD19+ CD20+ IgM+ IgG− CD27− cells. The number in the center of the pie denotes the total number of antibodies with detectable binding to RSV F. Affinity of each of these antibodies for preF, colored according to V-gene usage (middle). Neutralization potency (IC50) for each antibody that displayed detectable binding (right). Results are derived from at least two independent experiments. See also Figure S4, Table S2, and Table S3.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Neutralizing antibody ADI-19425 uses germline-encoded features for high-affinity binding to antigenic site III on preF
(A) Crystal structure of ADI-19425 Fab in complex with preF shown as molecular surfaces viewed along (left) and above (right) the viral membrane. The preF protomers are colored tan, pink and green, and the ADI-19425 heavy and light chains are colored purple and white, respectively. (B) Magnified view of the antibody interface (left) and a 90° rotation about the vertical axis (right), colored as in (A). CDRs are shown as tubes and one RSV F protomer is shown as ribbons. Germline-encoded tyrosine and serine residues are shown as sticks with oxygen atoms colored red. Transparent molecular surfaces are shown for the three labeled tyrosine residues. (C) Sensorgrams for the binding of ADI-19425 and the Y31A, Y91A and Y56A variants to preF measured using SPR. The data were double-reference subtracted (black) and fit to a 1:1 binding model (red). Results are representative of a single experiment. See also Figure S5 and Table S4.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Non-neutralizing antibody ADI-14359 uses a convergent CDR H3 motif and germline features of the VK1-39 light chain for binding to antigenic site I on postF
(A) Crystal structure of ADI-14359 Fab (VH2-70:VK1-39) in complex with postF shown as molecular surfaces with the three postF protomers colored in tan, pink and green, and the ADI-14359 heavy and light chains colored blue and white, respectively. (B) The variable domain of ADI-14359 is shown as ribbons and postF is shown as molecular surfaces. (C) Magnified view of the antibody interface (left) and a 180° rotation about the vertical axis (right), colored as in (A). The variable domain of ADI-14359 and one postF protomer are shown as ribbons. Selected residues are shown as sticks with oxygen atoms colored red and nitrogen atoms colored blue. Hydrogen bonds and salt bridges are depicted as black dotted lines. The residues in the sequence logo of the convergent CDR H3 are colored according to chemical property (Crooks et al., 2004). FR3, framework region 3. (D) Sensorgram for the binding of ADI-14359 to post F measured using SPR (top). The data were double-reference subtracted (black) and fit to a 1:1 binding model (red). Rate constants for the R50L variant binding to postF were too fast to be accurately determined (second from top) and therefore the equilibrium responses were plotted against the concentration of Fab and fit to a steady-state affinity model (red line) (third from top). Binding of ADI-14359 to the K390A variant of postF was too weak to determine an affinity (bottom). Results are representative of a single experiment. See also Figure S6 and Table S4.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Acosta PL, Caballero MT, Polack FP. Brief History and Characterization of Enhanced Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease. Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2015;23:189–195. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adams PD, Grosse-Kunstleve RW, Hung LW, Ioerger TR, McCoy AJ, Moriarty NW, Read RJ, Sacchettini JC, Sauter NK, Terwilliger TC. PHENIX: building new software for automated crystallographic structure determination. Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2002;58:1948–1954. - PubMed
    1. Anderson LJ, Dormitzer PR, Nokes DJ, Rappuoli R, Roca A, Graham BS. Strategic priorities for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine development. Vaccine. 2013;31(Suppl 2):B209–215. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anderson LJ, Hierholzer JC, Stone YO, Tsou C, Fernie BF. Identification of epitopes on respiratory syncytial virus proteins by competitive binding immunoassay. J Clin Microbiol. 1986;23:475–480. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bailey JR, Flyak AI, Cohen VJ, Li H, Wasilewski LN, Snider AE, Wang S, Learn GH, Kose N, Loerinc L, et al. Broadly neutralizing antibodies with few somatic mutations and hepatitis C virus clearance. JCI Insight. 2017;2:92872. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances