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Brouwer PJM, Perrett HR, Beaumont T, Nijhuis H, Kruijer S, Burger JA, Bontjer I, Lee WH, Ferguson JA, Schauflinger M, Müller-Kräuter H, Sanders RW, Strecker T, van Gils MJ, Ward AB. Defining bottlenecks and opportunities for Lassa virus neutralization by structural profiling of vaccine-induced polyclonal antibody responses. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114708. [PMID: 39243373 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 07/19/2024] [Accepted: 08/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Lassa fever continues to be a major public health burden in West Africa, yet effective therapies or vaccines are lacking. The isolation of protective neutralizing antibodies against the Lassa virus glycoprotein complex (GPC) justifies the development of vaccines that can elicit strong neutralizing antibody responses. However, Lassa vaccine candidates have generally been unsuccessful at doing so, and the associated antibody responses to these vaccines remain poorly characterized. Here, we establish an electron microscopy-based epitope mapping workflow that enables high-resolution structural characterization of polyclonal antibodies to the GPC. By applying this method to rabbits vaccinated with a recombinant GPC vaccine and a GPC-derived virus-like particle, we reveal determinants of neutralization that involve epitopes of the GPC-A competition cluster. Furthermore, by identifying undescribed immunogenic off-target epitopes, we expose the challenges that recombinant GPC vaccines face. By enabling detailed polyclonal antibody characterization, our work ushers in a next generation of more rational Lassa vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip J M Brouwer
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Hailee R Perrett
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Tim Beaumont
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Haye Nijhuis
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sabine Kruijer
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Judith A Burger
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ilja Bontjer
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Wen-Hsin Lee
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - James A Ferguson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | | | | | - Rogier W Sanders
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Thomas Strecker
- Institute of Virology, Philipps University Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Marit J van Gils
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Andrew B Ward
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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Alatrash R, Herrera BB. The Adaptive Immune Response against Bunyavirales. Viruses 2024; 16:483. [PMID: 38543848 PMCID: PMC10974645 DOI: 10.3390/v16030483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The Bunyavirales order includes at least fourteen families with diverse but related viruses, which are transmitted to vertebrate hosts by arthropod or rodent vectors. These viruses are responsible for an increasing number of outbreaks worldwide and represent a threat to public health. Infection in humans can be asymptomatic, or it may present with a range of conditions from a mild, febrile illness to severe hemorrhagic syndromes and/or neurological complications. There is a need to develop safe and effective vaccines, a process requiring better understanding of the adaptive immune responses involved during infection. This review highlights the most recent findings regarding T cell and antibody responses to the five Bunyavirales families with known human pathogens (Peribunyaviridae, Phenuiviridae, Hantaviridae, Nairoviridae, and Arenaviridae). Future studies that define and characterize mechanistic correlates of protection against Bunyavirales infections or disease will help inform the development of effective vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reem Alatrash
- Rutgers Global Health Institute, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases and Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Bobby Brooke Herrera
- Rutgers Global Health Institute, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases and Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
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Brouwer PJ, Perrett HR, Beaumont T, Nijhuis H, Kruijer S, Burger JA, Lee WH, Müller-Kraüter H, Sanders RW, Strecker T, van Gils MJ, Ward AB. Defining bottlenecks and opportunities for Lassa virus neutralization by structural profiling of vaccine-induced polyclonal antibody responses. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.21.572918. [PMID: 38187682 PMCID: PMC10769344 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.21.572918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Lassa fever continues to be a major public health burden in endemic countries in West Africa, yet effective therapies or vaccines are lacking. The isolation of potent and protective neutralizing antibodies against the Lassa virus glycoprotein complex (GPC) justifies the development of vaccines that can elicit strong neutralizing antibody responses. However, Lassa vaccines candidates have generally been unsuccessful in doing so and the associated antibody responses to these vaccines remain poorly characterized. Here, we establish an electron-microscopy based epitope mapping pipeline that enables high-resolution structural characterization of polyclonal antibodies to GPC. By applying this method to rabbits vaccinated with a recombinant GPC vaccine and a GPC-derived virus-like particle, we reveal determinants of neutralization which involve epitopes of the GPC-C, GPC-A, and GP1-A competition clusters. Furthermore, by identifying previously undescribed immunogenic off-target epitopes, we expose challenges that recombinant GPC vaccines face. By enabling detailed polyclonal antibody characterization, our work ushers in a next generation of more rational Lassa vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip J.M. Brouwer
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Hailee R. Perrett
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Tim Beaumont
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Haye Nijhuis
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Sabine Kruijer
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Judith A. Burger
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Wen-Hsin Lee
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | | | - Rogier W. Sanders
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Thomas Strecker
- Institute of Virology, Philipps University Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Marit J. van Gils
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, the Netherlands
| | - Andrew B. Ward
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Lead contact
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