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Desombere I, Mesalam AA, Urbanowicz RA, Van Houtte F, Verhoye L, Keck ZY, Farhoudi A, Vercauteren K, Weening KE, Baumert TF, Patel AH, Foung SKH, Ball J, Leroux-Roels G, Meuleman P. A novel neutralizing human monoclonal antibody broadly abrogates hepatitis C virus infection in vitro and in vivo. Antiviral Res 2017; 148:53-64. [PMID: 29074219 PMCID: PMC5785094 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2017.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Revised: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Infections with hepatitis C virus (HCV) represent a worldwide health burden and a prophylactic vaccine is still not available. Liver transplantation (LT) is often the only option for patients with HCV-induced end-stage liver disease. However, immediately after transplantation, the liver graft becomes infected by circulating virus, resulting in accelerated progression of liver disease. Although the efficacy of HCV treatment using direct-acting antivirals has improved significantly, immune compromised LT-patients and patients with advanced liver disease remain difficult to treat. As an alternative approach, interfering with viral entry could prevent infection of the donor liver. We generated a human monoclonal antibody (mAb), designated 2A5, which targets the HCV envelope. The neutralizing activity of mAb 2A5 was assessed using multiple prototype and patient-derived HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp), cell culture produced HCV (HCVcc), and a human-liver chimeric mouse model. Neutralization levels observed for mAb 2A5 were generally high and mostly superior to those obtained with AP33, a well-characterized HCV-neutralizing monoclonal antibody. Using humanized mice, complete protection was observed after genotype 1a and 4a HCV challenge, while only partial protection was achieved using gt1b and 6a isolates. Epitope mapping revealed that mAb 2A5 binding is conformation-dependent and identified the E2-region spanning amino acids 434 to 446 (epitope II) as the predominant contact domain. CONCLUSION mAb 2A5 shows potent anti-HCV neutralizing activity both in vitro and in vivo and could hence represent a valuable candidate to prevent HCV recurrence in LT-patients. In addition, the detailed identification of the neutralizing epitope can be applied for the design of prophylactic HCV vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Desombere
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Ahmed Atef Mesalam
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Therapeutic Chemistry Department, National Research Centre (NRC), Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Richard A Urbanowicz
- School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK; Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK.
| | - Freya Van Houtte
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Lieven Verhoye
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Zhen-Yong Keck
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Ali Farhoudi
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Koen Vercauteren
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Karin E Weening
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Thomas F Baumert
- Inserm U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques, Strasbourg, France; Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg et Pole Hépato-digestif, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Arvind H Patel
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
| | - Steven K H Foung
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Jonathan Ball
- School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK; Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK.
| | - Geert Leroux-Roels
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Philip Meuleman
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
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Broad Anti-Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Antibody Responses Are Associated with Improved Clinical Disease Parameters in Chronic HCV Infection. J Virol 2016; 90:4530-4543. [PMID: 26912610 PMCID: PMC4836347 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02669-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED During hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) responses targeting E1E2 envelope glycoproteins are generated in many individuals. It is unclear if these antibodies play a protective or a pathogenic role during chronic infection. In this study, we investigated whether bNAb responses in individuals with chronic infection were associated with differences in clinical presentation. Patient-derived purified serum IgG was used to assess the breadth of HCV E1E2 binding and the neutralization activity of HCV pseudoparticles. The binding and neutralization activity results for two panels bearing viral envelope proteins representing either an intergenotype or an intragenotype 1 group were compared. We found that the HCV load was negatively associated with strong cross-genotypic E1E2 binding (P= 0.03). Overall, we observed only a modest correlation between total E1E2 binding and neutralization ability. The breadth of intergenotype neutralization did not correlate with any clinical parameters; however, analysis of individuals with genotype 1 (gt1) HCV infection (n= 20), using an intragenotype pseudoparticle panel, found a strong association between neutralization breadth and reduced liver fibrosis (P= 0.006). A broad bNAb response in our cohort with chronic infection was associated with a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in theHLA-DQB1 gene (P= 0.038), as previously reported in a cohort with acute disease. Furthermore, the bNAbs in these individuals targeted more than one region of E2-neutralizing epitopes, as assessed through cross-competition of patient bNAbs with well-characterized E2 antibodies. We conclude that the bNAb responses in patients with chronic gt1 infection are associated with lower rates of fibrosis and host genetics may play a role in the ability to raise such responses. IMPORTANCE Globally, there are 130 million to 150 million people with chronic HCV infection. Typically, the disease is progressive and is a major cause of severe liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. While it is known that neutralizing antibodies have a role in spontaneous clearance during acute infection, little is known about their role in chronic infection. In the present work, we investigated the antibody response in a cohort of chronically infected individuals and found that a broadly neutralizing antibody response is protective and is associated with reduced levels of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. We also found an association between SNPs in class II HLA genes and the presence of a broadly neutralizing response, indicating that antigen presentation may be important for the production of HCV-neutralizing antibodies.
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Schvoerer E, Moenne-Loccoz R, Murray JM, Velay A, Turek M, Fofana I, Fafi-Kremer S, Erba AC, Habersetzer F, Doffoël M, Gut JP, Donlin MJ, Tavis JE, Zeisel MB, Stoll-Keller F, Baumert TF. Hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein signatures are associated with treatment failure and modulation of viral entry and neutralization. J Infect Dis 2013; 207:1306-15. [PMID: 23335805 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jit032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A major challenge for antiviral treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is viral resistance, potentially resulting from the high variability of HCV envelope glycoproteins and subsequent selection of strains with enhanced infectivity and/or immune escape. METHODS We used a bioinformatics and functional approach to investigate whether E1/E2 envelope glycoprotein structure and function were associated with treatment failure in 92 patients infected with HCV genotype 1. RESULTS Bioinformatics analysis identified 1 sustain virological response (R)-related residue in E1 (219T) and 2 non-SVR (NR)-related molecular signatures in E2 (431A and 642V) in HCV genotype 1a. Two of these positions also appeared in minimal networks separating NR patients from R patients. HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) expressing 431A and 642V resulted in a decrease in antibody-mediated neutralization by pretreatment sera. 431A/HCVpp entry into Huh7.5 cells increased with overexpression of CD81 and SR-BI. Moreover, an association of envelope glycoprotein signatures with treatment failure was confirmed in an independent cohort (Virahep-C). CONCLUSIONS Combined in silico and functional analyses demonstrate that envelope glycoprotein signatures associated with treatment failure result in an alteration of host cell entry factor use and escape from neutralizing antibodies, suggesting that virus-host interactions during viral entry contribute to treatment failure.
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Tarr AW, Urbanowicz RA, Hamed MR, Albecka A, McClure CP, Brown RJP, Irving WL, Dubuisson J, Ball JK. Hepatitis C patient-derived glycoproteins exhibit marked differences in susceptibility to serum neutralizing antibodies: genetic subtype defines antigenic but not neutralization serotype. J Virol 2011; 85:4246-57. [PMID: 21325403 PMCID: PMC3126256 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01332-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2010] [Accepted: 01/21/2011] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Neutralizing antibodies have a role in controlling hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. A successful vaccine will need to elicit potently neutralizing antibodies that are capable of preventing the infection of genetically diverse viral isolates. However, the specificity of the neutralizing antibody response in natural HCV infection still is poorly understood. To address this, we examined the reactivity of polyclonal antibodies isolated from chronic HCV infection to the diverse patient-isolated HCV envelope glycoproteins E1 and E2 (E1E2), and we also examined the potential to neutralize the entry of pseudoparticles bearing these diverse E1E2 proteins. The genetic type of the infection was found to determine the pattern of the antibody recognition of these E1E2 proteins, with the greatest reactivity to homologous E1E2 proteins. This relationship was strongest when the component of the antibody response directed only to linear epitopes was analyzed. In contrast, the neutralization serotype did not correlate with genotype. Instead, serum-derived antibodies displayed a range of neutralization breadth and potency, while different E1E2 glycoproteins displayed different sensitivities to neutralization, such that these could be divided broadly into neutralization-sensitive and -resistant phenotypes. An important additional observation was that entry mediated by some E1E2 proteins was enhanced in the presence of some of the polyclonal antibody fractions isolated during chronic infection. These data highlight the need to use diverse E1E2 isolates, which represent extremes of neutralization sensitivity, when screening antibodies for therapeutic potential and for testing antibodies generated following immunization as part of vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander W. Tarr
- School of Molecular Medical Sciences and Biomedical Research Unit in Gastroenterology, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Richard A. Urbanowicz
- School of Molecular Medical Sciences and Biomedical Research Unit in Gastroenterology, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Mohamed R. Hamed
- School of Molecular Medical Sciences and Biomedical Research Unit in Gastroenterology, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
- Medical Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura City, Egypt
| | - Anna Albecka
- Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), F-59019 Lille, Inserm U1019, F-59019 Lille, CNRS UMR8204, F-59021 Lille, and University Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - C. Patrick McClure
- School of Molecular Medical Sciences and Biomedical Research Unit in Gastroenterology, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Richard J. P. Brown
- School of Molecular Medical Sciences and Biomedical Research Unit in Gastroenterology, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - William L. Irving
- School of Molecular Medical Sciences and Biomedical Research Unit in Gastroenterology, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Jean Dubuisson
- Institut Pasteur de Lille, Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), F-59019 Lille, Inserm U1019, F-59019 Lille, CNRS UMR8204, F-59021 Lille, and University Lille Nord de France, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Jonathan K. Ball
- School of Molecular Medical Sciences and Biomedical Research Unit in Gastroenterology, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Chimpanzees have been widely used in hepatitis C virus (HCV) research, but their endangered status and high financial and ethical costs have prompted a closer review. METHODS One hundred and nine articles published in 1998-2007 were analyzed for the number of chimpanzees involved, experimental procedures, objectives and other relevant issues. RESULTS The articles described the use of 852 chimpanzees, but accounting for likely multiple uses, the number of individual chimpanzees involved here is estimated to be approximately 500. Most articles addressed immunology and inoculation studies. A significant portion of studies lasted for several months or years. Approximately one half of the individual chimpanzees were each used in 2-10 studies. CONCLUSIONS Significant financial and scientific resources have been expended in these chimpanzee HCV studies. Discussion addresses troublesome questions presented by some of the reviewed articles, including statistical validity, repeatability, and biological relevance of this model. These concerns merit attention as future approaches to HCV research and research priorities are considered.
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