An effective vaccine to the antigenically diverse hepatitis C virus (HCV) must target conserved immune epitopes. Here, we investigate cross-neutralization of HCV genotypes by broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) encoded by the relatively abundant ...
An effective vaccine to the antigenically diverse hepatitis C virus (HCV) must target conserved immune epitopes. Here, we investigate cross-neutralization of HCV genotypes by broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) encoded by the relatively abundant human gene family V H 1-69 . We have deciphered the molecular requirements for cross-neutralization by this unique class of human antibodies from crystal structures of HCV E2 in complex with bNAbs. An unusually high binding affinity is found for germ line-reverted versions of V H 1-69 precursor antibodies, and neutralization breadth is acquired during affinity maturation. Deep sequencing analysis of an HCV-immune B cell repertoire further demonstrates the importance of the V H 1-69 gene family in the generation of HCV bNAbs. This study therefore provides critical insights into immune recognition of HCV with important implications for rational vaccine design.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.,Gastrointestinal Unit and Liver Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.,Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.,Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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