scholarly journals Fcγ Receptors Contribute to the Antiviral Properties of Influenza Virus Neuraminidase-Specific Antibodies

mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. Job ◽  
T. Ysenbaert ◽  
A. Smet ◽  
A. Van Hecke ◽  
L. Meuris ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Influenza virus neuraminidase (NA) has been under intense study recently as a vaccine antigen, yet there remain unanswered questions regarding the immune response directed toward NA. Antibodies (Abs) that can inhibit NA activity have been shown to aid in the control of disease caused by influenza virus infection in humans and animal models, yet how and if interactions between the Fc portion of anti-NA Abs and Fcγ receptors (FcγR) contribute to protection has not yet been extensively studied. Herein, we show that poly- and monoclonal anti-NA IgG antibodies with NA inhibitory activity can control A(H1N1)pdm09 infection in the absence of FcγRs, but FcγR interaction aided in viral clearance from the lungs. In contrast, a mouse-human chimeric anti-NA IgG1 that was incapable of mediating NA inhibition (NI) solely relied on FcγR interaction to protect transgenic mice (with a humanized FcγR compartment) against A(H1N1)pdm09 infection. As such, this study suggests that NA-specific antibodies contribute to protection against influenza A virus infection even in the absence of NI activity and supports protection through multiple effector mechanisms. IMPORTANCE There is a pressing need for next-generation influenza vaccine strategies that are better able to manage antigenic drift and the cocirculation of multiple drift variants and that consistently improve vaccine effectiveness. Influenza virus NA is a key target antigen as a component of a next-generation vaccine in the influenza field, with evidence for a role in protective immunity in humans. However, mechanisms of protection provided by antibodies directed to NA remain largely unexplored. Herein, we show that antibody Fc interaction with Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) expressed on effector cells contributes to viral control in a murine model of influenza. Importantly, a chimeric mouse-human IgG1 with no direct antiviral activity was demonstrated to solely rely on FcγRs to protect mice from disease. Therefore, antibodies without NA enzymatic inhibitory activity may also play a role in controlling influenza viruses and should be of consideration when designing NA-based vaccines and assessing immunogenicity.

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
Ying Huang ◽  
Monique S. França ◽  
James D. Allen ◽  
Hua Shi ◽  
Ted M. Ross

Vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza virus infections, but the diversity of antigenically distinct isolates is a persistent challenge for vaccine development. In order to conquer the antigenic variability and improve influenza virus vaccine efficacy, our research group has developed computationally optimized broadly reactive antigens (COBRAs) in the form of recombinant hemagglutinins (rHAs) to elicit broader immune responses. However, previous COBRA H1N1 vaccines do not elicit immune responses that neutralize H1N1 virus strains in circulation during the recent years. In order to update our COBRA vaccine, two new candidate COBRA HA vaccines, Y2 and Y4, were generated using a new seasonal-based COBRA methodology derived from H1N1 isolates that circulated during 2013–2019. In this study, the effectiveness of COBRA Y2 and Y4 vaccines were evaluated in mice, and the elicited immune responses were compared to those generated by historical H1 COBRA HA and wild-type H1N1 HA vaccines. Mice vaccinated with the next generation COBRA HA vaccines effectively protected against morbidity and mortality after infection with H1N1 influenza viruses. The antibodies elicited by the COBRA HA vaccines were highly cross-reactive with influenza A (H1N1) pdm09-like viruses isolated from 2009 to 2021, especially with the most recent circulating viruses from 2019 to 2021. Furthermore, viral loads in lungs of mice vaccinated with Y2 and Y4 were dramatically reduced to low or undetectable levels, resulting in minimal lung injury compared to wild-type HA vaccines following H1N1 influenza virus infection.


mBio ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffael Nachbagauer ◽  
Angela Choi ◽  
Ruvim Izikson ◽  
Manon M. Cox ◽  
Peter Palese ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Influenza remains a major global health burden. Seasonal vaccines offer protection but can be rendered less effective when the virus undergoes extensive antigenic drift. Antibodies that target the highly conserved hemagglutinin stalk can protect against drifted viruses, and vaccine constructs designed to induce such antibodies form the basis for a universal influenza virus vaccine approach. In this study, we analyzed baseline and postvaccination serum samples of children (6 to 59 months), adults (18 to 49 years), and elderly individuals (≥65 years) who participated in clinical trials with a recombinant hemagglutinin-based vaccine. We found that baseline IgG and IgA antibodies against the H1 stalk domain correlated with the ages of patients. Children generally had very low baseline titers and did not respond well to the vaccine in terms of making stalk-specific antibodies. Adults showed the highest induction of stalk-specific antibodies, but the elderly had the highest absolute antibody titers against the stalk. Importantly, the stalk antibodies measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed neutralizing activity in neutralization assays and protected mice in a passive-transfer model in a stalk titer-dependent manner. Finally, we found similar patterns of stalk-specific antibodies directed against the H3 and influenza B virus hemagglutinins, albeit at lower levels than those measured against the H1 stalk. The relatively high levels of stalk-specific antibodies in the elderly patients may explain the previously reported low influenza virus infection rates in this age group. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT00336453, NCT00539981, and NCT00395174.) IMPORTANCE The present study provides evidence that titers of broadly neutralizing hemagglutinin stalk-reactive antibodies increase with age, possibly due to repeated exposure to divergent influenza viruses. These relatively high levels of antistalk titers may be responsible for lower circulation rates of influenza viruses in older individuals. Our findings suggest that the level of antistalk antibodies is a good surrogate marker for protection against influenza virus infection. In addition, the levels of antistalk antibodies might determine the breadth of protection against different drifted strains.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Allen ◽  
Ted M. Ross

AbstractWhile vaccines remain the best tool for preventing influenza virus infections, they have demonstrated low to moderate effectiveness in recent years. Seasonal influenza vaccines typically consist of wild-type influenza A and B viruses that are limited in their ability to elicit protective immune responses against co-circulating influenza virus variant strains. Improved influenza virus vaccines need to elicit protective immune responses against multiple influenza virus drift variants within each season. Broadly reactive vaccine candidates potentially provide a solution to this problem, but their efficacy may begin to wane as influenza viruses naturally mutate through processes that mediates drift. Thus, it is necessary to develop a method that commercial vaccine manufacturers can use to update broadly reactive vaccine antigens to better protect against future and currently circulating viral variants. Building upon the COBRA technology, nine next-generation H3N2 influenza hemagglutinin (HA) vaccines were designed using a next generation algorithm and design methodology. These next-generation broadly reactive COBRA H3 HA vaccines were superior to wild-type HA vaccines at eliciting antibodies with high HAI activity against a panel of historical and co-circulating H3N2 influenza viruses isolated over the last 15 years, as well as the ability to neutralize future emerging H3N2 isolates.


2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 6467-6473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Bae Ryu ◽  
Hyung Jae Jeong ◽  
So Young Yoon ◽  
Ji-Young Park ◽  
Young Min Kim ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 2516-2525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang Heui Seo ◽  
Robert G. Webster

ABSTRACT In 1997, avian H5N1 influenza virus transmitted from chickens to humans resulted in 18 confirmed infections. Despite harboring lethal H5N1 influenza viruses, most chickens in the Hong Kong poultry markets showed no disease signs. At this time, H9N2 influenza viruses were cocirculating in the markets. We investigated the role of H9N2 influenza viruses in protecting chickens from lethal H5N1 influenza virus infections. Sera from chickens infected with an H9N2 influenza virus did not cross-react with an H5N1 influenza virus in neutralization or hemagglutination inhibition assays. Most chickens primed with an H9N2 influenza virus 3 to 70 days earlier survived the lethal challenge of an H5N1 influenza virus, but infected birds shed H5N1 influenza virus in their feces. Adoptive transfer of T lymphocytes or CD8+ T cells from inbred chickens (B2/B2) infected with an H9N2 influenza virus to naive inbred chickens (B2/B2) protected them from lethal H5N1 influenza virus. In vitro cytotoxicity assays showed that T lymphocytes or CD8+ T cells from chickens infected with an H9N2 influenza virus recognized target cells infected with either an H5N1 or H9N2 influenza virus in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings indicate that cross-reactive cellular immunity induced by H9N2 influenza viruses protected chickens from lethal infection with H5N1 influenza viruses in the Hong Kong markets in 1997 but permitted virus shedding in the feces. Our findings are the first to suggest that cross-reactive cellular immunity can change the outcome of avian influenza virus infection in birds in live markets and create a situation for the perpetuation of H5N1 influenza viruses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zeng ◽  
Cynthia S. Goldsmith ◽  
Amrita Kumar ◽  
Jessica A. Belser ◽  
Xiangjie Sun ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTFerrets represent an invaluable animal model to study influenza virus pathogenesis and transmission. To further characterize this model, we developed a differentiated primary ferret nasal epithelial cell (FNEC) culture model for investigation of influenza A virus infection and virus-host interactions. This well-differentiated culture consists of various cell types, a mucociliary clearance system, and tight junctions, representing the nasal ciliated pseudostratified respiratory epithelium. Both α2,6-linked and α2,3-linked sialic acid (SA) receptors, which preferentially bind the hemagglutinin (HA) of human and avian influenza viruses, respectively, were detected on the apical surface of the culture with different cellular tropisms. In accordance with the distribution of SA receptors, we observed that a pre-2009 seasonal A(H1N1) virus infected both ciliated and nonciliated cells, whereas a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus primarily infected nonciliated cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that virions were released from or associated with the apical membranes of ciliated, nonciliated, and mucin-secretory goblet cells. Upon infection, the HPAI A(H5N1) virus replicated to titers higher than those of the human A(H1N1) virus at 37°C; however, replication of the A(H5N1) virus was significantly attenuated at 33°C. Furthermore, we found that infection with the A(H5N1) virus induced higher expression levels of immune mediator genes and resulted in more cell damage/loss than with the human A(H1N1) virus. This primary differentiated FNEC culture model, recapitulating the structure of the nasal epithelium, provides a useful model to bridgein vivoandin vitrostudies of cellular tropism, infectivity, and pathogenesis of influenza viruses during the initial stages of infection.IMPORTANCEAlthough ferrets serve as an important model of influenza virus infection, much remains unknown about virus-host interactions in this species at the cellular level. The development of differentiated primary cultures of ferret nasal epithelial cells is an important step toward understanding cellular tropism and the mechanisms of influenza virus infection and replication in the airway milieu of this model. Using lectin staining and microscopy techniques, we characterized the sialic acid receptor distribution and the cellular composition of the culture model. We then evaluated the replication of and immune response to human and avian influenza viruses at relevant physiological temperatures. Our findings offer significant insight into this first line of defense against influenza virus infection and provide a model for the evaluation of emerging influenza viruses in a well-controlledin vitroenvironmental setting.


Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 768
Author(s):  
Hirotaka Hayashi ◽  
Norikazu Isoda ◽  
Enkhbold Bazarragchaa ◽  
Naoki Nomura ◽  
Keita Matsuno ◽  
...  

H4 influenza viruses have been isolated from birds across the world. In recent years, an H4 influenza virus infection has been confirmed in pigs. Pigs play an important role in the transmission of influenza viruses to human hosts. Therefore, it is important to develop a new vaccine in the case of an H4 influenza virus infection in humans, considering that this virus has a different antigenicity from seasonal human influenza viruses. In this study, after selecting vaccine candidate strains based on their antigenic relation to one of the pig isolates, A/swine/Missouri/A01727926/2015 (H4N6) (MO/15), an inactivated whole-particle vaccine was prepared from A/swan/Hokkaido/481102/2017 (H4N6). This vaccine showed high immunogenicity in mice, and the antibody induced by the vaccine showed high cross-reactivity to the MO/15 virus. This vaccine induced sufficient neutralizing antibodies and mitigated the effects of an MO/15 infection in a mouse model. This study is the first to suggest that an inactivated whole-particle vaccine prepared from an influenza virus isolated from wild birds is an effective countermeasure in case of a future influenza pandemic caused by the H4 influenza virus.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 5267-5276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeru Kohno ◽  
Muh-Yong Yen ◽  
Hee-Jin Cheong ◽  
Nobuo Hirotsu ◽  
Tadashi Ishida ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAntiviral medications with activity against influenza viruses are important in controlling influenza. We compared intravenous peramivir, a potent neuraminidase inhibitor, with oseltamivir in patients with seasonal influenza virus infection. In a multinational, multicenter, double-blind, double-dummy randomized controlled study, patients aged ≥20 years with influenza A or B virus infection were randomly assigned to receive either a single intravenous infusion of peramivir (300 or 600 mg) or oral administration of oseltamivir (75 mg twice a day [b.i.d.] for 5 days). To demonstrate the noninferiority of peramivir in reducing the time to alleviation of influenza symptoms with hazard model analysis and a noninferiority margin of 0.170, we planned to recruit 1,050 patients in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. A total of 1,091 patients (364 receiving 300 mg and 362 receiving 600 mg of peramivir; 365 receiving oseltamivir) were included in the intent-to-treat infected population. The median durations of influenza symptoms were 78.0, 81.0, and 81.8 h in the groups treated with 300 mg of peramivir, 600 mg of peramivir, and oseltamivir, respectively. The hazard ratios of the 300- and 600-mg-peramivir groups compared to the oseltamivir group were 0.946 (97.5% confidence interval [CI], 0.793, 1.129) and 0.970 (97.5% CI, 0.814, 1.157), respectively. Both peramivir groups were noninferior to the oseltamivir group (97.5% CI, <1.170). The overall incidence of adverse drug reactions was significantly lower in the 300-mg-peramivir group, but the incidence of severe reactions in either peramivir group was not different from that in the oseltamivir group. Thus, a single intravenous dose of peramivir may be an alternative to a 5-day oral dose of oseltamivir for patients with seasonal influenza virus infection.


2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 1116-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg A. Kirchenbaum ◽  
Donald M. Carter ◽  
Ted M. Ross

ABSTRACTBroadly reactive antibodies targeting the conserved hemagglutinin (HA) stalk region are elicited following sequential infection or vaccination with influenza viruses belonging to divergent subtypes and/or expressing antigenically distinct HA globular head domains. Here, we demonstrate, through the use of novel chimeric HA proteins and competitive binding assays, that sequential infection of ferrets with antigenically distinct seasonal H1N1 (sH1N1) influenza virus isolates induced an HA stalk-specific antibody response. Additionally, stalk-specific antibody titers were boosted following sequential infection with antigenically distinct sH1N1 isolates in spite of preexisting, cross-reactive, HA-specific antibody titers. Despite a decline in stalk-specific serum antibody titers, sequential sH1N1 influenza virus-infected ferrets were protected from challenge with a novel H1N1 influenza virus (A/California/07/2009), and these ferrets poorly transmitted the virus to naive contacts. Collectively, these findings indicate that HA stalk-specific antibodies are commonly elicited in ferrets following sequential infection with antigenically distinct sH1N1 influenza virus isolates lacking HA receptor-binding site cross-reactivity and can protect ferrets against a pathogenic novel H1N1 virus.IMPORTANCEThe influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) is a major target of the humoral immune response following infection and/or seasonal vaccination. While antibodies targeting the receptor-binding pocket of HA possess strong neutralization capacities, these antibodies are largely strain specific and do not confer protection against antigenic drift variant or novel HA subtype-expressing viruses. In contrast, antibodies targeting the conserved stalk region of HA exhibit broader reactivity among viruses within and among influenza virus subtypes. Here, we show that sequential infection of ferrets with antigenically distinct seasonal H1N1 influenza viruses boosts the antibody responses directed at the HA stalk region. Moreover, ferrets possessing HA stalk-specific antibody were protected against novel H1N1 virus infection and did not transmit the virus to naive contacts.


2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (24) ◽  
pp. 11157-11167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangjie Sun ◽  
Hui Zeng ◽  
Amrita Kumar ◽  
Jessica A. Belser ◽  
Taronna R. Maines ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTA role for pulmonary endothelial cells in the orchestration of cytokine production and leukocyte recruitment during influenza virus infection, leading to severe lung damage, has been recently identified. As the mechanistic pathway for this ability is not fully known, we extended previous studies on influenza virus tropism in cultured human pulmonary endothelial cells. We found that a subset of avian influenza viruses, including potentially pandemic H5N1, H7N9, and H9N2 viruses, could infect human pulmonary endothelial cells (HULEC) with high efficiency compared to human H1N1 or H3N2 viruses. In HULEC, human influenza viruses were capable of binding to host cellular receptors, becoming internalized and initiating hemifusion but failing to uncoat the viral nucleocapsid and to replicate in host nuclei. Unlike numerous cell types, including epithelial cells, we found that pulmonary endothelial cells constitutively express a high level of the restriction protein IFITM3 in endosomal compartments. IFITM3 knockdown by small interfering RNA (siRNA) could partially rescue H1N1 virus infection in HULEC, suggesting IFITM3 proteins were involved in blocking human influenza virus infection in endothelial cells. In contrast, selected avian influenza viruses were able to escape IFITM3 restriction in endothelial cells, possibly by fusing in early endosomes at higher pH or by other, unknown mechanisms. Collectively, our study demonstrates that the human pulmonary endothelium possesses intrinsic immunity to human influenza viruses, in part due to the constitutive expression of IFITM3 proteins. Notably, certain avian influenza viruses have evolved to escape this restriction, possibly contributing to virus-induced pneumonia and severe lung disease in humans.IMPORTANCEAvian influenza viruses, including H5N1 and H7N9, have been associated with severe respiratory disease and fatal outcomes in humans. Although acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and progressive pulmonary endothelial damage are known to be present during severe human infections, the role of pulmonary endothelial cells in the pathogenesis of avian influenza virus infections is largely unknown. By comparing human seasonal influenza strains to avian influenza viruses, we provide greater insight into the interaction of influenza virus with human pulmonary endothelial cells. We show that human influenza virus infection is blocked during the early stages of virus entry, which is likely due to the relatively high expression of the host antiviral factors IFITMs (interferon-induced transmembrane proteins) located in membrane-bound compartments inside cells. Overall, this study provides a mechanism by which human endothelial cells limit replication of human influenza virus strains, whereas avian influenza viruses overcome these restriction factors in this cell type.


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