RESUMO
Influenza infection and vaccination impart strain-specific immunity that protects against neither seasonal antigenic variants nor the next pandemic. However, antibodies directed to conserved sites can confer broad protection. Here we identify and characterize a class of human antibodies that engage a previously undescribed, conserved epitope on the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) protein. Prototype antibody S8V1-157 binds at the normally occluded interface between the HA head and stem. Antibodies to this HA head-stem interface epitope are non-neutralizing in vitro but protect against lethal influenza infection in mice. Antibody isotypes that direct clearance of infected cells enhance this protection. Head-stem interface antibodies bind to most influenza A serotypes and seasonal human variants, and are present at low frequencies in the memory B cell populations of multiple human donors. Vaccines designed to elicit these antibodies might contribute to "universal" influenza immunity.
RESUMO
Phylogenetically and antigenically distinct influenza A and B viruses (IAV and IBV) circulate in human populations, causing widespread morbidity. Antibodies (Abs) that bind epitopes conserved in both IAV and IBV hemagglutinins (HAs) could protect against disease by diverse virus subtypes. Only one reported HA Ab, isolated from a combinatorial display library, protects against both IAV and IBV. Thus, there has been so far no information on the likelihood of finding naturally occurring human Abs that bind HAs of diverse IAV subtypes and IBV lineages. We have now recovered from several unrelated human donors five clonal Abs that bind a conserved epitope preferentially exposed in the postfusion conformation of IAV and IVB HA2. These Abs lack neutralizing activity in vitro but in mice provide strong, IgG subtype-dependent protection against lethal IAV and IBV infections. Strategies to elicit similar Abs routinely might contribute to more effective influenza vaccines.
Assuntos
Vírus da Influenza A , Vacinas contra Influenza , Influenza Humana , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae , Humanos , Camundongos , Animais , Hemaglutininas , Epitopos , Anticorpos Antivirais , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza , Vírus da Influenza BRESUMO
Antibody titers that inhibit the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) from engaging its receptor are the accepted correlate of protection from infection. Many potent antibodies with broad, intra-subtype specificity bind HA at the receptor binding site (RBS). One barrier to broad H1-H3 cross-subtype neutralization is an insertion (133a) between positions 133 and 134 on the rim of the H1 HA RBS. We describe here a class of antibodies that overcomes this barrier. These genetically unrestricted antibodies are abundant in the human B cell memory compartment. Analysis of the affinities of selected members of this class for historical H1 and H3 isolates suggest that they were elicited by H3 exposure and broadened or diverted by later exposure(s) to H1 HA. RBS mutations in egg-adapted vaccine strains cause the new H1 specificity of these antibodies to depend on the egg adaptation. The results suggest that suitable immunogens might elicit 133a-independent, H1-H3 cross neutralization by RBS-directed antibodies.
Assuntos
Vacinas contra Influenza , Influenza Humana , Humanos , Anticorpos Antivirais , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/química , Vírus da Influenza A Subtipo H3N2 , Sítios de LigaçãoRESUMO
There is an unmet need for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for prevention or as adjunctive treatment of herpes simplex virus (HSV) disease. Most vaccine and mAb efforts focus on neutralizing antibodies, but for HSV this strategy has proven ineffective. Preclinical studies with a candidate HSV vaccine strain, ΔgD-2, demonstrated that non-neutralizing antibodies that activate Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) to mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) provide active and passive protection against HSV-1 and HSV-2. We hypothesized that this vaccine provides a tool to identify and characterize protective mAbs. We isolated HSV-specific mAbs from germinal center and memory B cells and bone marrow plasmacytes of ΔgD-2-vaccinated mice and evaluated these mAbs for binding, neutralizing, and FcγR-activating activity and for protective efficacy in mice. The most potent protective mAb, BMPC-23, was not neutralizing but activated murine FcγRIV, a biomarker of ADCC. The cryo-electron microscopic structure of the Fab-glycoprotein B (gB) assembly identified domain IV of gB as the epitope. A single dose of BMPC-23 administered 24 hours before or after viral challenge provided significant protection when configured as mouse IgG2c and protected mice expressing human FcγRIII when engineered as a human IgG1. These results highlight the importance of FcR-activating antibodies in protecting against HSV.
Assuntos
Herpes Simples , Herpesvirus Humano 1 , Animais , Humanos , Camundongos , Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Herpes Simples/prevenção & controle , Anticorpos Antivirais , Glicoproteínas , Anticorpos Monoclonais , Proteínas do Envelope Viral/genéticaRESUMO
Pathogens evade host humoral responses by accumulating mutations in surface antigens. While variable, there are conserved regions that cannot mutate without compromising fitness. Antibodies targeting these conserved epitopes are often broadly protective but remain minor components of the repertoire. Rational immunogen design leverages a structural understanding of viral antigens to modulate humoral responses to favor these responses. Here, we report an epitope-enriched immunogen presenting a higher copy number of the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) receptor-binding site (RBS) epitope relative to other B cell epitopes. Immunization in a partially humanized murine model imprinted with an H1 influenza shows H1-specific serum and >99% H1-specific B cells being RBS-directed. Single B cell analyses show a genetically restricted response that structural analysis defines as RBS-directed antibodies engaging the RBS with germline-encoded contacts. These data show how epitope enrichment expands B cell responses toward conserved epitopes and advances immunogen design approaches for next-generation viral vaccines.
Assuntos
Vacinas contra Influenza , Influenza Humana , Humanos , Camundongos , Animais , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/química , Anticorpos Antivirais , Epitopos de Linfócito BRESUMO
The first encounter with influenza virus biases later immune responses. This "immune imprinting," formerly from infection within a few years of birth, is in the United States now largely from immunization with a quadrivalent, split vaccine (IIV4 [quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine]). In a pilot study of IIV4 imprinting, we used single-cell cultures, next-generation sequencing, and plasma antibody proteomics to characterize the primary antibody responses to influenza in two infants during their first 2 years of seasonal influenza vaccination. One infant, who received only a single vaccination in year 1, contracted an influenza B virus (IBV) infection between the 2 years, allowing us to compare imprinting by infection and vaccination. That infant had a shift in hemagglutinin (HA)-reactive B cell specificity from largely influenza A virus (IAV) specific in year 1 to IBV specific in year 2, both before and after the year 2 vaccination. HA-reactive B cells from the other infant maintained a more evenly distributed specificity. In year 2, class-switched HA-specific B cell IGHV somatic hypermutation (SHM) levels reached the average levels seen in adults. The HA-reactive plasma antibody repertoires of both infants comprised a relatively small number of antibody clonotypes, with one or two very abundant clonotypes. Thus, after the year 2 boost, both infants had overall B cell profiles that resembled those of adult controls. IMPORTANCE Influenza virus is a moving target for the immune system. Variants emerge that escape protection from antibodies elicited by a previously circulating variant ("antigenic drift"). The immune system usually responds to a drifted influenza virus by mutating existing antibodies rather than by producing entirely new ones. Thus, immune memory of the earliest influenza virus exposure has a major influence on later responses to infection or vaccination ("immune imprinting"). In the many studies of influenza immunity in adult subjects, imprinting has been from an early infection, since only in the past 2 decades have infants received influenza immunizations. The work reported in this paper is a pilot study of imprinting by the flu vaccine in two infants, who received the vaccine before experiencing an influenza virus infection. The results suggest that a quadrivalent (four-subtype) vaccine may provide an immune imprint less dominated by one subtype than does a monovalent infection.
Assuntos
Vacinas contra Influenza , Influenza Humana , Orthomyxoviridae , Adulto , Humanos , Lactente , Projetos Piloto , Vírus da Influenza B , Vacinação , Anticorpos Antivirais , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da InfluenzaRESUMO
Immunization or microbial infection can establish long-term B cell memory not only systemically but also locally. Evidence has suggested that local B cell memory contributes to early local plasmacytic responses after secondary challenge. However, it is unclear whether locality of immunization plays any role in memory B cell participation in recall germinal centers (GCs), which is essential for updating their B cell antigen receptors (BCRs). Using single B cell culture and fate mapping, we have characterized BCR repertoires in recall GCs after boost immunizations at sites local or distal to the priming. Local boosts with homologous antigen recruit the progeny of primary GC B cells to recall GCs more efficiently than do distal boosts. Recall GCs elicited by local boosts contain significantly more B cells with elevated levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) mutation and higher avidity BCRs. This local preference is unaffected by blocking CD40:CD154 interaction to terminate active, GC responses. Local boosts with heterologous antigens elicit secondary GCs with B cell populations enriched for cross-reactivity to the prime and boost antigens; in contrast, cross-reactive GC B cells are rare after distal boosts. Our results suggest that local B cell memory is retained in the form of memory B cells, GC B cells, and GC phenotype B cells that are independent of organized GC structures and that these persistent "primed B cells" contribute to recall GC responses at local sites. Our findings indicate the importance of locality in humoral immunity and inform serial vaccination strategies for evolving viruses.
Assuntos
Centro Germinativo , Imunização , Antígenos , Linfócitos B , Imunidade Humoral , Vacinação/métodosRESUMO
Novel animal influenza viruses emerge, initiate pandemics, and become endemic seasonal variants that have evolved to escape from prevalent herd immunity. These processes often outpace vaccine-elicited protection. Focusing immune responses on conserved epitopes may impart durable immunity. We describe a focused, protective antibody response, abundant in memory and serum repertoires, to a conserved region at the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) head interface. Structures of 11 examples, 8 reported here, from seven human donors demonstrate the convergence of responses on a single epitope. The 11 are genetically diverse, with one class having a common, IGκV1-39, light chain. All of the antibodies bind HAs from multiple serotypes. The lack of apparent genetic restriction and potential for elicitation by more than one serotype may explain their abundance. We define the head interface as a major target of broadly protective antibodies with the potential to influence the outcomes of influenza virus infection. IMPORTANCE The rapid appearance of mutations in circulating human influenza viruses and selection for escape from herd immunity require prediction of likely variants for an annual updating of influenza vaccines. The identification of human antibodies that recognize conserved surfaces on the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) has prompted efforts to design immunogens that might selectively elicit such antibodies. The recent discovery of a widely prevalent antibody response to the conserved interface between two HA "heads" (the globular, receptor-binding domains at the apex of the spike-like trimer) has added a new target for these efforts. We report structures of eight such antibodies, bound with HA heads, and compare them with each other and with three others previously described. Although genetically diverse, they all converge on a common binding site. The analysis here can guide immunogen design for preclinical trials.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Neutralizantes/sangue , Anticorpos Antivirais/sangue , Formação de Anticorpos , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/genética , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/imunologia , Influenza Humana/imunologia , Animais , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/metabolismo , Anticorpos Antivirais/metabolismo , Sítios de Ligação de Anticorpos , Linhagem Celular , Testes de Inibição da Hemaglutinação , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/química , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/metabolismo , Humanos , Camundongos , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/imunologia , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/virologia , PrevalênciaRESUMO
BCR transgenic mice dominate studies of B cell tolerance; consequently, tolerance in normal mice expressing diverse sets of autoreactive B cells is poorly characterized. We have used single B cell cultures to trace self-reactivity in BCR repertoires across the first and second tolerance checkpoints and in tolerized B cell compartments of normal mice. This approach reveals affinity "setpoints" that define each checkpoint and a subset of tolerized, autoreactive B cells that is long-lived. In normal mice, the numbers of B cells avidly specific for DNA fall significantly as small pre-B become immature and transitional-1 B cells, revealing the first tolerance checkpoint. By contrast, DNA reactivity does not significantly change when immature and transitional-1 B cells become mature follicular B cells, showing that the second checkpoint does not reduce DNA reactivity. In the spleen, autoreactivity was high in transitional-3 (T3) B cells, CD93+IgM-/loIgDhi anergic B cells, and a CD93- anergic subset. Whereas splenic T3 and CD93+ anergic B cells are short-lived, CD93-IgM-/loIgDhi B cells have half-lives comparable to mature follicular B cells. B cell-specific deletion of proapoptotic genes, Bak and Bax, resulted in increased CD93-IgM-/loIgDhi B cell numbers but not T3 B cell numbers, suggesting that apoptosis regulates differently persistent and ephemeral autoreactive B cells. The self-reactivity and longevity of CD93-IgM-/loIgDhi B cells and their capacity to proliferate and differentiate into plasmacytes in response to CD40 activation in vitro lead us to propose that this persistent, self-reactive compartment may be the origin of systemic autoimmunity and a potential target for vaccines to elicit protective Abs cross-reactive with self-antigens.
Assuntos
Autoantígenos/imunologia , Autoimunidade , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Células Precursoras de Linfócitos B/imunologia , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Animais , Autoantígenos/metabolismo , Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Células Cultivadas , Anergia Clonal , Reações Cruzadas , Meia-Vida , Linfonodos/citologia , Linfonodos/imunologia , Camundongos , Modelos Animais , Células Precursoras de Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Cultura Primária de Células , Análise de Célula Única , Baço/citologia , Baço/imunologiaRESUMO
Influenza virus constantly acquires genetic mutations/reassortment in the major surface protein, hemagglutinin (HA), resulting in the generation of strains with antigenic variations. There are, however, HA epitopes that are conserved across influenza viruses and are targeted by broadly protective antibodies. A goal for the next-generation influenza vaccines is to stimulate B-cell responses against such conserved epitopes in order to provide broad protection against divergent influenza viruses. Broadly protective B cells, however, are not easily activated by HA antigens with native structure, because the virus has multiple strategies to escape from the humoral immune responses directed to the conserved epitopes. One such strategy is to hide the conserved epitopes from the B-cell surveillance by steric hindrance. Technical advancement in the analysis of the human B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) repertoire has dissected the BCRs to HA epitopes that are hidden in the native structure but are targeted by broadly protective antibodies. We describe here the characterization and function of broadly protective antibodies and strategies that enable B cells to seek these hidden epitopes, with potential implications for the development of universal influenza vaccines.
Assuntos
Linfócitos B/imunologia , Orthomyxoviridae/imunologia , Hemaglutininas/imunologia , Humanos , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos B/imunologiaRESUMO
Antigenic variation and viral evolution have thwarted traditional influenza vaccination strategies. The broad protection afforded by a "universal" influenza vaccine may come from immunogens that elicit humoral immune responses targeting conserved epitopes on the viral hemagglutinin (HA), such as the receptor-binding site (RBS). Here, we engineered candidate immunogens that use noncirculating, avian influenza HAs as molecular scaffolds to present the broadly neutralizing RBS epitope from historical, circulating H1 influenzas. These "resurfaced" HAs (rsHAs) remove epitopes potentially targeted by strain-specific responses in immune-experienced individuals. Through structure-guided optimization, we improved two antigenically different scaffolds to bind a diverse panel of pan-H1 and H1/H3 cross-reactive bnAbs with high affinity. Subsequent serological and single germinal center B cell analyses from murine prime-boost immunizations show that the rsHAs are both immunogenic and can augment the quality of elicited RBS-directed antibodies. Our structure-guided, RBS grafting approach provides candidate immunogens for selectively presenting a conserved viral epitope.
Assuntos
Apresentação de Antígeno , Epitopos/química , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza , Vacinas contra Influenza , Animais , Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Anticorpos Antivirais , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/genética , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/imunologia , Humanos , CamundongosRESUMO
Eliciting protective titers of HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) is a goal of HIV-1 vaccine development, but current vaccine strategies have yet to induce bnAbs in humans. Many bnAbs isolated from HIV-1-infected individuals are encoded by immunoglobulin gene rearrangments with infrequent naive B cell precursors and with unusual genetic features that may be subject to host regulatory control. Here, we administer antibodies targeting immune cell regulatory receptors CTLA-4, PD-1 or OX40 along with HIV envelope (Env) vaccines to rhesus macaques and bnAb immunoglobulin knock-in (KI) mice expressing diverse precursors of CD4 binding site HIV-1 bnAbs. CTLA-4 blockade augments HIV-1 Env antibody responses in macaques, and in a bnAb-precursor mouse model, CTLA-4 blocking or OX40 agonist antibodies increase germinal center B and T follicular helper cells and plasma neutralizing antibodies. Thus, modulation of CTLA-4 or OX40 immune checkpoints during vaccination can promote germinal center activity and enhance HIV-1 Env antibody responses.
Assuntos
Vacinas contra a AIDS/imunologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/imunologia , Anticorpos Anti-HIV/imunologia , HIV-1/imunologia , Fatores Imunológicos/imunologia , Vacinação/métodos , Vacinas contra a AIDS/administração & dosagem , Animais , Anticorpos Bloqueadores/administração & dosagem , Anticorpos Bloqueadores/imunologia , Anticorpos Neutralizantes/sangue , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Antígenos CD4/genética , Antígeno CTLA-4/antagonistas & inibidores , Antígeno CTLA-4/imunologia , Anticorpos Anti-HIV/sangue , Infecções por HIV/imunologia , Humanos , Fatores Imunológicos/administração & dosagem , Ativação Linfocitária , Macaca mulatta/imunologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Transgênicos , Receptores OX40/agonistas , Receptores OX40/imunologia , Linfócitos T Auxiliares-Indutores/imunologia , Transcriptoma , Produtos do Gene env do Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana/imunologiaRESUMO
2F5 is an HIV-1 broadly neutralizing Ab that also binds the autoantigens kynureninase (KYNU) and anionic lipids. Generation of 2F5-like Abs is proscribed by immune tolerance, but it is unclear which autospecificity is responsible. We sampled the BCR repertoire of 2F5 knock-in mice before and after the first and second tolerance checkpoints. Nearly all small pre-B (precheckpoint) and 35-70% of anergic peripheral B cells (postcheckpoint) expressed the 2F5 BCR and maintained KYNU, lipid, and HIV-1 gp41 reactivity. In contrast, all postcheckpoint mature follicular (MF) B cells had undergone L chain editing that purged KYNU and gp41 binding but left lipid reactivity largely intact. We conclude that specificity for KYNU is the primary driver of tolerization of 2F5-expressing B cells. The MF and anergic B cell populations favored distinct collections of editor L chains; surprisingly, however, MF and anergic B cells also frequently expressed identical BCRs. These results imply that BCR autoreactivity is the primary determinant of whether a developing B cell enters the MF or anergic compartments, with a secondary role for stochastic factors that slightly mix the two pools. Our study provides mechanistic insights into how immunological tolerance impairs humoral responses to HIV-1 and supports activation of anergic B cells as a potential method for HIV-1 vaccination.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Monoclonais/imunologia , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Anticorpos Amplamente Neutralizantes/imunologia , Anticorpos Anti-HIV/imunologia , HIV-1/imunologia , Hidrolases/imunologia , Tolerância Imunológica/imunologia , Vacinas contra a AIDS/imunologia , Animais , Anticorpos Monoclonais/genética , Anticorpos Amplamente Neutralizantes/genética , Reações Cruzadas , Feminino , Técnicas de Introdução de Genes , Células HEK293 , Anticorpos Anti-HIV/genética , Humanos , Ativação Linfocitária/imunologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos B/imunologiaRESUMO
Virus-like particles (VLPs) provide a well-established vaccine platform; however, the immunogenic properties acquired by VLP structure remain poorly understood. In this study, we showed that systemic vaccination with norovirus VLP recalls human IgA responses at higher magnitudes than IgG responses under a humanized mouse model that was established by introducing human PBMCs in severely immunodeficient mice. The recall responses elicited by VLP vaccines depended on VLP structure and the disruption of VLP attenuated recall responses, with a more profound reduction being observed in IgA responses. The IgA-focusing property was also conserved in a murine norovirus-primed model under which murine IgA responses were recalled in a manner dependent on VLP structure. Importantly, the VLP-driven IgA response preferentially targeted virus-neutralizing epitopes located in the receptor-binding domain. Consequently, VLP-driven IgA responses were qualitatively superior to IgG responses in terms of the virus-neutralizing activity in vitro. Furthermore, the IgA in mucosa obtained remarkable protective function toward orally administrated virus in vivo. Thus, our results indicate the immune-focusing properties of the VLP vaccine that improve the quality/quantity of mucosal IgA responses, a finding with important implications for developing mucosal vaccines.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Imunoglobulina A/imunologia , Vacinas de Partículas Semelhantes a Vírus/imunologia , Animais , Formação de Anticorpos/imunologia , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Infecções por Caliciviridae/prevenção & controle , Humanos , Imunidade nas Mucosas , Switching de Imunoglobulina/genética , Switching de Imunoglobulina/imunologia , Imunoglobulina G/imunologia , Memória Imunológica , Camundongos , Camundongos Transgênicos , Norovirus/imunologiaRESUMO
B lymphocytes must respond to vast numbers of foreign antigens, including those of microbial pathogens. To do so, developing B cells use combinatorial joining of V-, D-, and J-gene segments to generate an extraordinarily diverse repertoire of B-cell antigen receptors (BCRs). Unsurprisingly, a large fraction of this initial BCR repertoire reacts to self-antigens, and these "forbidden" B cells are culled by immunological tolerance from mature B-cell populations. While culling of autoreactive BCRs mitigates the risk of autoimmunity, it also opens gaps in the BCR repertoire, which are exploited by pathogens that mimic the forbidden self-epitopes. Consequently, immunological tolerance, necessary for averting autoimmune disease, also acts to limit effective microbial immunity. In this brief review, we recount the evidence for the linkage of tolerance and impaired microbial immunity, consider the implications of this linkage for vaccine development, and discuss modulating tolerance as a potential strategy for strengthening humoral immune responses.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antibacterianos/imunologia , Anticorpos Antifúngicos/imunologia , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Tolerância Imunológica/imunologia , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos B/imunologia , Animais , Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Linfócitos B/microbiologia , Humanos , Imunidade Humoral/imunologia , Ativação Linfocitária/imunologia , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/imunologiaRESUMO
Germinal center (GC) B cells at viral replication sites acquire specificity to poorly immunogenic but conserved influenza hemagglutinin (HA) epitopes. Here, high-throughput epitope mapping of local GC B cells is used to identify conserved HA epitope selecting cross-reactive antibodies that mediate heterosubtypic protection. A distinct feature of this epitope is an occlusion in the naive trimeric HA structure that is exposed in the post-fusion HA structure to occur under low pH conditions during viral replication. Importantly, systemic immunization by the post-fusion HA antigen results in GC B cells targeting the occluded epitope, and induces a class of protective antibodies that have cross-group specificity and afford protection independent of virus neutralization activity. Furthermore, this class of broadly protective antibodies develops at late time points and persists. Our results identify a class of cross-protective antibodies that are selected at the viral replication site, and provide insights into vaccine strategies using the occluded epitope.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/imunologia , Vírus da Influenza A/imunologia , Animais , Reações Cruzadas , Mapeamento de Epitopos , Centro Germinativo/citologia , Centro Germinativo/imunologia , Humanos , Imunização , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Camundongos Endogâmicos NOD , Camundongos Knockout , Camundongos SCID , Replicação ViralRESUMO
Immunological tolerance removes or inactivates self-reactive B cells, including those that also recognize cross-reactive foreign antigens. Whereas a few microbial pathogens exploit these "holes" in the B cell repertoire by mimicking host antigens to evade immune surveillance, the extent to which tolerance reduces the B cell repertoire to foreign antigens is unknown. Here, we use single-cell cultures to determine the repertoires of human B cell antigen receptors (BCRs) before (transitional B cells) and after (mature B cells) the second B cell tolerance checkpoint in both healthy donors and in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) . In healthy donors, the majority (~70%) of transitional B cells that recognize foreign antigens also bind human self-antigens (foreign+self), and peripheral tolerance halves the frequency of foreign+self-reactive mature B cells. In contrast, in SLE patients who are defective in the second tolerance checkpoint, frequencies of foreign+self-reactive B cells remain unchanged during maturation of transitional to mature B cells. Patterns of foreign+self-reactivity among mature B cells from healthy donors differ from those of SLE patients. We propose that immune tolerance significantly reduces the scope of the BCR repertoire to microbial pathogens and that cross-reactivity between foreign and self epitopes may be more common than previously appreciated.
Assuntos
Autoantígenos/imunologia , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Tolerância Imunológica/imunologia , Lúpus Eritematoso Sistêmico/imunologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Autoimunidade/imunologia , Método Duplo-Cego , Feminino , Humanos , Imunoglobulina G/genética , Masculino , Estudos Multicêntricos como Assunto , Receptores de Antígenos de Linfócitos B/imunologia , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Viral glycoproteins are under constant immune surveillance by a host's adaptive immune responses. Antigenic variation including glycan introduction or removal is among the mechanisms viruses have evolved to escape host immunity. Understanding how glycosylation affects immunodominance on complex protein antigens may help decipher underlying B cell biology. To determine how B cell responses can be altered by such modifications, we engineered glycans onto the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) and characterized the molecular features of the elicited humoral immunity in mice. We found that glycan addition changed the initially diverse antibody repertoire into an epitope-focused, genetically restricted response. Structural analyses showed that one antibody gene family targeted a previously subdominant, occluded epitope at the head interface. Passive transfer of this antibody conferred Fc-dependent protection to influenza virus-challenged mice. These results have potential implications for next-generation viral vaccines aimed at directing B cell responses to preferred epitope(s).
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/imunologia , Vírus da Influenza A Subtipo H3N2/imunologia , Polissacarídeos/metabolismo , Animais , Anticorpos Antivirais/metabolismo , Cristalografia por Raios X , Epitopos/química , Epitopos/genética , Epitopos/metabolismo , Glicosilação , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/química , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/genética , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/metabolismo , Imunização Passiva , Vírus da Influenza A Subtipo H3N2/genética , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/prevenção & controle , Ligação Proteica , Conformação Proteica , Análise de SobrevidaRESUMO
Vaccines to generate durable humoral immunity against antigenically evolving pathogens such as the influenza virus must elicit antibodies that recognize conserved epitopes. Analysis of single memory B cells from immunized human donors has led us to characterize a previously unrecognized epitope of influenza hemagglutinin (HA) that is immunogenic in humans and conserved among influenza subtypes. Structures show that an unrelated antibody from a participant in an experimental infection protocol recognized the epitope as well. IgGs specific for this antigenic determinant do not block viral infection in vitro, but passive administration to mice affords robust IgG subtype-dependent protection against influenza infection. The epitope, occluded in the pre-fusion form of HA, is at the contact surface between HA head domains; reversible molecular "breathing" of the HA trimer can expose the interface to antibody and B cells. Antigens that present this broadly immunogenic HA epitope may be good candidates for inclusion in "universal" flu vaccines.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais/imunologia , Epitopos/imunologia , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/imunologia , Imunoglobulina G/imunologia , Vírus da Influenza A/imunologia , Vacinas contra Influenza/imunologia , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae , Adulto , Animais , Cães , Feminino , Humanos , Células Madin Darby de Rim Canino , Masculino , Camundongos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/imunologia , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/patologia , Infecções por Orthomyxoviridae/prevenção & controleRESUMO
Epitope-focused approaches for selective clonal induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) inform most current vaccine strategies for influenza virus and other rapidly evolving pathogens. The two conserved epitopes on the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) - the "stem" and the receptor-binding site (RBS) on the "head" - are the focus of the current "universal" influenza vaccine development efforts. Because stem-directed serum bnAbs are much less abundant than head-directed ones, we hypothesized that the HA stem bnAbs may be autoreactive and thus eliminated through the mechanisms of self-tolerance. We compared autoreactivity profiles of a set of stem and head-directed bnAbs. Most of the stem bnAbs we examined bound autoantigens; several showed staining of HEp-2 cells. A smaller proportion of the head-directed bnAbs were polyreactive. Gene usage did not correlate with autoreactivity. We suggest that complex foreign antigens may often have surface patches resembling some host epitope; our results indicate that HA stem epitopes resemble a host epitope more frequently than does the RBS.