Whitehead, S. S. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2026

Sub-neutralizing concentrations of Zika virus IgM monoclonal antibodies reduce IgG-mediated antibody-dependent enhancement of infectivity.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne flavivirus endemic to Latin America and Africa for which IgG-mediated antibody-dependent enhancement of infectivity (ADE) is a phenomenon of concern. The interplay dynamics between flavivirus-specific antibodies of the IgG and IgM isotypes are mostly unknown. Here, we used DH1017.IgM, a previously described human-derived, pentameric, ultrapotent neutralizing ZIKV IgM monoclonal antibody (mAb) and a recombinantly produced IgM version of neutralizing EDE1 mAb C8 (C8.IgM) to assess if IgM antibodies can interfere with IgG-mediated ADE in vitro. Both mAbs consistently reduced IgG-mediated ADE across a panel of ZIKV-binding IgG mAbs in a dose-dependent manner. ADE mitigation was achieved at DH1017.IgM sub-neutralizing concentrations. C8.IgM also mitigated IgG-mediated ADE against the whole panel, demonstrating generalizability. Finally, DH1017.IgM confirmed inhibition of ADE at sub-neutralizing concentrations in sera of ZIKV-infected individuals. In conclusion, mAbs of the IgM isotype may potently counter the adverse effects of IgG-mediated ADE.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2018

Early transcriptional responses after dengue vaccination mirror the response to natural infection and predict neutralizing antibody titers

BackgroundSeveral promising live attenuated virus (LAV) dengue vaccines are in development, but information about innate immune responses and early correlates of protection are lacking.\n\nMethodsWe characterized human genome-wide transcripts in whole blood from 10 volunteers at 11 time-points after immunization with the dengue virus type 3 (DENV-3) component of the NIH dengue vaccine candidate TV003 and from 30 hospitalized children with acute primary DENV-3 infection. We compared day-specific gene expression patterns with subsequent neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers.\n\nResultsThe transcriptional response to vaccination was largely confined to days 5-20 and was dominated by an interferon-associated signature and a cell cycle signature that peaked on days 8 and 14, respectively. Changes in transcript abundance were much greater in magnitude and scope in symptomatic natural infection than following vaccination (maximum fold-change >200 versus 21 post-vaccination; 3,210 versus 286 transcripts with significant fold-change), but shared gene modules were induced in the same sequence. The abundance of 131 transcripts on days 8 and 9 post-vaccination was strongly correlated with NAb titers measured 6 weeks post-vaccination.\n\nConclusionsLAV dengue vaccination elicits early transcriptional responses that mirror those found in symptomatic natural infection and provide candidate early markers of protection against DENV infection.\n\nClinical Trial Registration Number: NCT00831012 (available at clinicaltrials.gov)\n\nSummary: Interferon- and cell cycle-associated gene transcript abundance levels in the peripheral blood of dengue vaccine recipients on days 8 and 9 post-vaccination were associated with dengue neutralizing antibody titers on day 42, and mirrored responses in primary dengue infection, suggesting the possibility of predicting protective immunity.

immunology↗