Neutralization of West Nile virus by cross-linking of its surface proteins with Fab fragments of the human monoclonal antibody CR4354

Journal Article · Mon Nov 15 04:00:00 EST 2010 · Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1011036107· OSTI ID:1002847

Kaufmann, Bärbel; Vogt, Matthew R; Goudsmit, Jaap; Holdaway, Heather A; Aksyuk, Anastasia A; Chipman, Paul R; Kuhn, Richard J; Diamond, Michael S; Rossmann, Michael G ^[1]

---

1. Purdue

Many flaviviruses are significant human pathogens, with the humoral immune response playing an essential role in restricting infection and disease. CR4354, a human monoclonal antibody isolated from a patient, neutralizes West Nile virus (WNV) infection at a postattachment stage in the viral life-cycle. Here, we determined the structure of WNV complexed with Fab fragments of CR4354 using cryoelectron microscopy. The outer glycoprotein shell of a mature WNV particle is formed by 30 rafts of three homodimers of the viral surface protein E. CR4354 binds to a discontinuous epitope formed by protein segments from two neighboring E molecules, but does not cause any detectable structural disturbance on the viral surface. The epitope occurs at two independent positions within an icosahedral asymmetric unit, resulting in 120 binding sites on the viral surface. The cross-linking of the six E monomers within one raft by four CR4354 Fab fragments suggests that the antibody neutralizes WNV by blocking the pH-induced rearrangement of the E protein required for virus fusion with the endosomal membrane.

• Research Organization: Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 1002847
• Journal Information: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Journal Name: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Journal Issue: (44) ; 11, 2010 Vol. 107; ISSN PNASA6; ISSN 0027-8424
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: ENGLISH

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
CROSS-LINKING
DISTURBANCES
GLYCOPROTEINS
LIFE CYCLE
MICROSCOPY
MONOMERS
PATHOGENS
PROTEINS