Dataset Information

Thermodynamic mechanism for the evasion of antibody neutralization in flaviviruses.

ABSTRACT: Mutations in the epitopes of antigenic proteins can confer viral resistance to antibody-mediated neutralization. However, the fundamental properties that characterize epitope residues and how mutations affect antibody binding to alter virus susceptibility to neutralization remain largely unknown. To address these questions, we used an ensemble-based algorithm to characterize the effects of mutations on the thermodynamics of protein conformational fluctuations. We applied this method to the envelope protein domain III (ED3) of two medically important flaviviruses: West Nile and dengue 2. We determined an intimate relationship between the susceptibility of a residue to thermodynamic perturbations and epitope location. This relationship allows the successful identification of the primary epitopes in each ED3, despite their high sequence and structural similarity. Mutations that allow the ED3 to evade detection by the antibody either increase or decrease conformational fluctuations of the epitopes through local effects or long-range interactions. Spatially distant interactions originate in the redistribution of conformations of the ED3 ensembles, not through a mechanically connected array of contiguous amino acids. These results reconcile previous observations of evasion of neutralization by mutations at a distance from the epitopes. Finally, we established a quantitative correlation between subtle changes in the conformational fluctuations of the epitope and large defects in antibody binding affinity. This correlation suggests that mutations that allow viral growth, while reducing neutralization, do not generate significant structural changes and underscores the importance of protein fluctuations and long-range interactions in the mechanism of antibody-mediated neutralization resistance.

SUBMITTER: Maillard RA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4111217 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Thermodynamic mechanism for the evasion of antibody neutralization in flaviviruses.

Maillard Rodrigo A RA Liu Tong T Beasley David W C DW Barrett Alan D T AD Hilser Vincent J VJ Lee J Ching JC

Journal of the American Chemical Society 20140708 29

Mutations in the epitopes of antigenic proteins can confer viral resistance to antibody-mediated neutralization. However, the fundamental properties that characterize epitope residues and how mutations affect antibody binding to alter virus susceptibility to neutralization remain largely unknown. To address these questions, we used an ensemble-based algorithm to characterize the effects of mutations on the thermodynamics of protein conformational fluctuations. We applied this method to the envel ...[more]

PMID: 24950171

Similar Datasets

Project description:UnlabelledThe production of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) is a correlate of protection for many human vaccines, including currently licensed vaccines against flaviviruses. NAbs are typically measured using a plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). Despite its extensive use, parameters that impact the performance of the PRNT have not been investigated from a mechanistic perspective. The results of a recent phase IIb clinical trial of a tetravalent dengue virus (DENV) vaccine suggest that NAbs, as measured using a PRNT performed with Vero cells, do not correlate with protection. This surprising finding highlights the importance of understanding how well the PRNT captures the complexity of the NAb response to DENV. In this study, we demonstrated that the structural heterogeneity of flaviviruses arising from inefficient virion maturation impacts the results of neutralization assays in a cell type-dependent manner. Neutralization titers of several monoclonal antibodies were significantly reduced when assayed on Vero cells compared to Raji cells expressing DC-SIGNR. This pattern can be explained by differences in the efficiency with which partially mature flaviviruses attach to each cell type, rather than a differential capacity of antibody to block infection. Vero cells are poorly permissive to the fraction of virions that are most sensitive to neutralization. Analysis of sera from recipients of live-attenuated monovalent DENV vaccine candidates revealed a strong correlation between the sensitivity of serum antibodies to the maturation state of DENV and cell type-dependent patterns of neutralization. Cross-reactive patterns of neutralization may be underrepresented by the "gold-standard" PRNT that employs Vero cells.ImportanceCell type-dependent patterns of neutralization describe a differential capacity of antibodies to inhibit virus infection when assayed on multiple cellular substrates. In this study, we established a link between antibodies that neutralize infection in a cell type-dependent fashion and those sensitive to the maturation state of the flavivirus virion. We demonstrated that cell type-dependent neutralization reflects a differential capacity to measure neutralization of viruses that are incompletely mature. Partially mature virions that most efficiently bind maturation state-sensitive antibodies are poorly represented by assays typically used in support of flavivirus vaccine development. The selection of cellular substrate for neutralization assays may significantly impact evaluation of the neutralization potency of the polyclonal response. These data suggest that current assays do not adequately capture the full complexity of the neutralizing antibody response and may hinder the identification of correlates of protection following flavivirus vaccination.

Dataset Information

Thermodynamic mechanism for the evasion of antibody neutralization in flaviviruses.

Publications

Thermodynamic mechanism for the evasion of antibody neutralization in flaviviruses.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets