JVI Accepted Manuscript Posted Online 10 June 2015 J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.01295-15 Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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Characterization of Two Human Monoclonal Antibodies Neutralizing Influenza
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A H7N9 Viruses
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Jianmin Wang1, Zhe Chen1, Linlin Bao2, Weijia Zhang1, Ying Xue1, XingHuo Pang3,
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Xi Zhang4, Chuan Qin*2and Qi Jin*1, 5
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1
MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen
Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. 2
Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
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(CAMS) & Comparative Medicine Center, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC),
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Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Ministry of Health,
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Beijing, China.
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3
Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
4
Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
5
Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases
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Address correspondence to
[email protected] (Q.J.);
[email protected] 21
(C.Q.).
22
J.W., Z.C. and L.B. contributed equally to this work.
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X.P., X.Z., C.Q. and Q.J. contributed equally to this article and are co-senior authors.
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ABSTRACT: H7N9 caused a significant global health concern, due to its severe
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infection and approximately 35% mortality in humans. By screening a Fab antibody
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phage library derived from patients who recovered from H7N9 infections, we
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characterized two human monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs), HNIgGD5 and
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HNIgGH8. The epitope of these two antibodies was dependent on two residues in the
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receptor binding site at positions V186 and L226 of the hemagglutinin glycoprotein.
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Both antibodies possessed high neutralizing activity.
38 39
In the spring of 2013, a novel influenza A virus, H7N9, broke out in China (4).
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Influenza A viruses are enveloped RNA viruses in the family Orthomyxoviridae. They
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possess eight negative-sense genomic segments and are classified into subtypes based
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on the two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). HA
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is a trimer of identical subunits. Each HA monomer contains a receptor binding site
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(RBS) in its globular head, involved in virus-receptor recognition and viral invasion
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into cells. NA is a mushroom-shaped tetramer of identical subunits. During
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replication, NA removes sialic acid from cellular glycoproteins and glycolipids and
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from both of the virus glycoproteins and thus enables the virus to be released from the
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host cell. So far 16 HA (H1-H16) subtypes and 9 NA (N1-N9) subtypes have been
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identified from avian natural reservoirs. However, it’s the first time that a H7N9 virus
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being infectious and lethal to humans. Within a few months, the H7N9 had caused
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137 of infection cases, including 45 fatalities (8). Direct contact with infected poultry
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was responsible for most of the human cases (2, 4). Genetic analysis also indicated
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that both HA and NA of the H7N9 influenza virus were closely related to that from
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ducks in China (HA) and from wild birds and ducks from China and Korea (NA) (4,
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6).
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Amantadine and rimantadine, have been widely utilized as anti-influenza drugs.
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Unfortunately, neither was effective against H7N9 infection. Recent studies revealed
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that H7N9 could be inhibited by NA inhibitors, oseltamivir and zanamivir (5).
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Unfortunately, a R292K and a R152K (N9 numbering) mutation that conferred
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resistance to both inhibitors were detected (5, 14). Neutralizing antibodies could
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prevent influenza A virus infection, especially in sporadic human infections (11).
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However, the only neutralizing antibody reported to react with H7 was less effective
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against this recent H7N9 virus (10).
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To screen for human neutralizing antibodies against novel H7N9 virus, we
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established two Fab phage display libraries for λ and κ light chains from the
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peripheral blood mononuclear cells of three recovered patients 3-4 weeks after
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hospitalization, who were infected with H7N9 (A/Anhui/1/2013, -AH1). After three
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rounds of panning with purified H7N9 virions, 816 positive Fab clones and 18 unique
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clones were identified. Among these 18 Fabs, 6 derive from the VH3 family, and 12
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derive from the VH4 family. The light chains of these Fabs are derived from the
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lambda gene family Vλ1 and the kappa gene families Vκ1, Vκ2, and Vκ3. All the 18
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clones demonstrated reactivity with purified virions or viral antigens, while 6 showed
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potent in-vitro neutralizing activity. We then converted these 6 Fabs into full-length
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IgG1 molecules for further study. The results for HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8 (derived
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from H7N9Fab13 and H7N9Fab14) were reported here. Both Fab clones possessed a
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unique VH4 and Vκ1 sequences (Table 1). There are four amino acid substitutions
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between the two Fabs, with one located in the CDR3 region in the light chain. The
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immunospecificity for HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8 was further tested by
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immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Both reacted with HA protein but not NA (Fig. 1A).
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A hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay was then performed. HNIgGD5 and
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HNIgGH8 showed equally strong HI activity, with the HI titer as low as 0.8 μg/ml.
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Next, their neutralizing activity against live H7N9 virus was determined on MDCK
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cells as described before (3). As shown in Fig.1B, both HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8
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substantially neutralized H7N9 virus on MDCK cells in a dose-dependent manner. To
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determine the epitope regions recognized by the antibodies, escape mutants were
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selected as described previously (3, 13). After five passages, variants were confirmed
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by their similar levels of growth in the presence and absence of the antibody and lack
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of inhibition in HI tests. The entire HA gene was then sequenced. As expected, amino
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acid substitutions were detected. Interestingly, the substitutions occurred at identical
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positions, V186G or L226Q (H3 numbering), both located in the RBS. It has been
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reported that these two amino acids had significant roles in human H7 HA binding
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with human receptor (9, 12). To verify this result, we constructed three HA mutants,
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each had one or both of the two amino acids substituted. The constructs were
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transiently expressed in HEK293T cells and further detected by IFA. As shown in
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Fig.1C, either V186G or L226Q abolished binding of HA with the antibodies. These
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results together demonstrated that the epitope of HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8 was
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dependent on two residues at positions V186 and L226 of human H7N9 HA. It was
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also in agreement with previous findings that antibodies recognizing the globular head
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had strong HI activity (7). Considering the crucial roles for V186 and L226 in human
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H7 HA binding with the human receptor (9, 12), it was plausible that the antibodies,
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HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8, bound with the HA protein through the RBS and thus
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interfered with its recognition and interaction with the human cellular receptor.
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In vivo therapeutic efficacy for both antibodies was tested in BALB/c mice. Ten
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mice per group were intraperitoneally injected with 1 or 5 mg/kg of purified HuMAbs
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24 h before the mice were challenged intranasally with 50 μl of a 5×LD50 mouse
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infectious dose of H7N9 virus. Another ten mice immunized with an irrelevant human
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IgG were also infected as control. Mice were observed daily for signs of disease and
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mortality for up to 14 days. As shown in Fig.2A, animals that received an irrelevant
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control antibody succumbed to infection in 5-11 days after viral challenge. In contrast,
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40% of the mice that received 1 mg/kg HNIgGD5 or HNIgGH8 survived, and at 5
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mg/kg the antibodies conferred 100% protection from lethality by H7N9 in the
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infected mice. In addition, mice immunized with an irrelevant control antibody
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rapidly lost weight, compared to mice receiving HNIgGD5 or HNIgGH8 that
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gradually regained body weight at approximately 5 days post-infection (dpi) (Fig. 2B).
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To verify that the protection in the infected mice was due to the inhibition of viral
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proliferation by the antibodies, titers of H7N9 virus in the nose and lungs were
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determined. As shown in Fig.2C, mice that received an irrelevant human IgG had high
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titers of virus in both nose and lungs at 5 dpi. However, after passive immunization
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with either HNIgGD5 or HNIgGH8, viral proliferation was noticeably inhibited and
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virus was difficult to detect in mice treated with 5 mg/kg HNIgGH8 (Fig.2C).
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A total of 454 H7N9 cases resulting in at least 171 deaths were reported by
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September 2014, and most cases were antigenically similar to the -AH1 isolate (1). In
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this study, we characterized two HuMAbs by screening a Fab antibody phage library
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derived from patients who recovered from H7N9 infection. These two antibodies
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showed high neutralizing activity against H7N9-AH1 in vitro and in vivo. At present,
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the neuraminidase inhibitors have still been the main therapeutic antiviral agents
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utilized for treatment of human infections with H7N9. Unfortunately, appearance of
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escape mutants was monitored (5, 14). In this regard, HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8,
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attacking the virus directly towards the HA protein, thus provide an alternative choice
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for H7N9 treatment. The antibodies are human originated and were originally
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generated in response to the natural infectious H7N9 virus and had protected the
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individual, also powerfully supporting this rational. Epitope identification
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demonstrated that two human receptor preferable residues at V186 and L226 were
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essential for antigen recognition. The essential roles played by the two residues in
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receptor binding limit their variation and consequent antigenic drift. Even escape
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occurred, the antibodies would be suitable to be utilized in adjunction with other
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established methods. At last, considering the possibility for antigen drift caused by
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wide spread of H7N9 influenza in natural reservoirs and the continuing zoonotic
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introductions into humans, more HuMAbs, especially the antibodies targeting distinct
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or more conserved epitopes, are still needed.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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This study was supported by PUMC Youth Fund and the Fundamental Research
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Funds for the Central Universities (33320140031), the National Natural Science
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Foundation of China (No.31300154), the Chinese Ministry of Science and
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Technology (KJYJ-2013-01-01-01) and Chinese National Major S & T Project
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(2013ZX10004-101). We thank the Shanghai and Beijing Centers for Disease Control
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and Prevention for providing the samples.
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Figure Legends
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Fig.1 HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8 are able to neutralize H7N9 virus. (A) The
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binding activity of the antibodies to HA and NA proteins were determined by IFA. (B)
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Neutralizing activities of HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8 against H7N9 virus were tested
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on MDCK cells. An irrelevant human IgG was utilized as control. (C) Epitope
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mapping of the antibodies. The selected amino acids in H7N9 HA were converted to
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the residues as indicated. The mutated HA protein was then transiently expressed in
239
cells and detected by IFA.
240
Fig.2 In vivo therapeutic efficacy of HNIgGD5 and HNIgGH8 in mice. Mice
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received HNIgGD5 or HNIgGH8 24 h prior to H7N9 infection and were monitored
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daily for 14 days. (A) The survival rate is presented. (B) The average body weight
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change of the mice is shown. (C) Virus titers from nose and lung tissue were
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determined at 5 dpi. Virus titers were substantially reduced in the HuMAb-treated
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groups (p < 0.05, t-test).
246 247 248
Table
249
Table 1. Amino acid sequences of variable regions in the H and L chains of H7N9
250
virus-specific Fabs
H7N9Fab13
H7N9Fab14
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a
VR,
VRa
CDR1b
CDR2
CDR3
VH
SGGYYWS
YIYYSGSTDYNPSLKS
GSTGDRHYYYYGMDV
VL
RASQSISSYLN
AASSLQS
QQSYSTPPT
VH
SGGYYWS
YIYYSGSTDYNPSLKS
GSTGDRHYYYYGMDV
VL
RASQSISSYLN
AASSLQS
QQSYSTPST
variable
region;
VH,
V gene segments of the heavy chain;
V gene segments of the light chain. b
CDR, complementarity determining region.
VL,