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Pathogens
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Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans
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Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2022) | Viewed by 29860

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Philipp A. Ilinykh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, TX, USA
Interests: hemorrhagic fever; filoviruses; animal models of filovirus infection; glycoproteins; heterologous immunity; viral antibodies; neutralizing antibodies; Fc-mediated protective effects; epitope mapping; immunotherapeutic
Dr. Kai Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA 2. One Health Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
Interests: emerging infectious diseases; respiratory pathogen; RNA virus; influenza; filovirus; Ebola; Marburg; virus evolution

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Humoral immunity is an important body defense system against virus infection and is correlated to patient health status. Antibody response is a key factor to controlling virus replication. During infection, viruses induce the production of antibodies differing in their isotype, neutralization capacity, breadth of neutralization, recognition of surface versus internal viral proteins, epitope specificity, and overall structure. These and other yet unidentified factors determine the role of antibodies in the clearance of infection through the inhibition of various steps of the virus life cycle in addition to activation of complement and/or specific immune cell populations which facilitate elimination of viral particles and the infected cells by antibody-dependent cytotoxicity, phagocytosis, and other mechanisms. However, in certain instances, some “adverse effects” of the antibody response, such as antibody-dependent enhancement of infection or increased inflammation resulting from the deposition of immune complexes, may be at play and exacerbate the infection. Adding to the complexity of interaction between viruses and host immune system, some viruses have exploited multiple mechanisms to compromise antibody production, which helps them to overcome the resistance of host organism and establish infection. This phenomenon often contributes to the differences in magnitude and longevity of the humoral response to natural infections in comparison with vaccines. Despite recent advancements in the characterization of antibody responses to a number of human pathogens, including human immunodeficiency virus 1, influenza virus, dengue virus, chikungunya virus, rabies virus, paramyxoviruses, poxviruses, hantaviruses, filoviruses, and coronaviruses, at both molecular and epidemiological levels, critical knowledge gaps still exist. In particular, many viral and host factors determining the dynamics of antibody response and its role in infection pathogenesis as well as the mechanisms of antiviral and proviral antibody effects remain undefined. Undoubtedly, such information will be vital to guide the design of vaccines and therapeutic strategies based on passive immunization.                        

This Special Issue of Pathogens aims at addressing the unresolved key issues that hamper our understanding of the interactions between viruses, antibodies, and other host factors. The new presented studies will shed light on the multifaced biological role that antibodies play during the course of virus infections. Both original research and review articles are welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Structure of immune complexes
  • Role of antibodies in pathogenesis of viral infections
  • Mechanisms of virus-induced suppression of antibody response
  • Dynamics of the humoral immune response during viral infections
  • Serological surveillance

We looking forward to receiving your unique contribution.      

Dr. Philipp A. Ilinykh
Dr. Kai Huang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • viruses
  • antigens
  • heterologous immunity
  • viral antibodies
  • neutralizing antibodies
  • Fc-mediated protective effects
  • epitope mapping
  • antibody structure
  • immune complexes
  • immunotherapeutic
  • serological surveillance

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

5 pages, 205 KiB  
Editorial
What Do Antibody Studies Tell Us about Viral Infections?
by Philipp A. Ilinykh and Kai Huang
Pathogens 2022, 11(5), 560; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens11050560 - 10 May 2022
Viewed by 1228
Abstract
Humoral immunity is an important body defense system against virus infection and is correlated to patient health status [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)

Research

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16 pages, 3031 KiB  
Article
Detection of Circulating VZV-Glycoprotein E-Specific Antibodies by Chemiluminescent Immunoassay (CLIA) for Varicella–Zoster Diagnosis
by Arnaud John Kombe Kombe, Jiajia Xie, Ayesha Zahid, Huan Ma, Guangtao Xu, Yiyu Deng, Fleury Augustin Nsole Biteghe, Ahmed Mohammed, Zhao Dan, Yunru Yang, Chen Feng, Weihong Zeng, Ruixue Chang, Keyuan Zhu, Siping Zhang and Tengchuan Jin
Pathogens 2022, 11(1), 66; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens11010066 - 05 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2544
Abstract
Varicella and herpes zoster are mild symptoms-associated diseases caused by varicella–zoster virus (VZV). They often cause severe complications (disseminated zoster), leading to death when diagnoses and treatment are delayed. However, most commercial VZV diagnostic tests have low sensitivity, and the most sensitive tests [...] Read more.
Varicella and herpes zoster are mild symptoms-associated diseases caused by varicella–zoster virus (VZV). They often cause severe complications (disseminated zoster), leading to death when diagnoses and treatment are delayed. However, most commercial VZV diagnostic tests have low sensitivity, and the most sensitive tests are unevenly available worldwide. Here, we developed and validated a highly sensitive VZV diagnostic kit based on the chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) approach. VZV-glycoprotein E (gE) was used to develop a CLIA diagnostic approach for detecting VZV-specific IgA, IgG, and IgM. The kit was tested with 62 blood samples from 29 VZV-patients classified by standard ELISA into true-positive and equivocal groups and 453 blood samples from VZV-negative individuals. The diagnostic accuracy of the CLIA kit was evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The relationships of immunoglobulin-isotype levels between the two groups and with patient age ranges were analyzed. Overall, the developed CLIA-based diagnostic kit demonstrated the detection of VZV-specific immunoglobulin titers depending on sample dilution. From the ELISA-based true-positive patient samples, the diagnostic approach showed sensitivities of 95.2%, 95.2%, and 97.6% and specificities of 98.0%, 100%, and 98.9% for the detection of VZV-gE-specific IgA, IgG, and IgM, respectively. Combining IgM to IgG and IgA detection improved diagnostic accuracy. Comparative analyses on diagnosing patients with equivocal results displaying very low immunoglobulin titers revealed that the CLIA-based diagnostic approach is overall more sensitive than ELISA. In the presence of typical VZV symptoms, CLIA-based detection of high titer of IgM and low titer of IgA/IgG suggested the equivocal patients experienced primary VZV infection. Furthermore, while no difference in IgA/IgG level was found regarding patient age, IgM level was significantly higher in young adults. The CLIA approach-based detection kit for diagnosing VZV-gE-specific IgA, IgG, and IgM is simple, suitable for high-throughput routine analysis situations, and provides enhanced specificity compared to ELISA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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10 pages, 1592 KiB  
Article
Seroprevalence of Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in Guangdong Province, China between March to June 2020
by Cheng Xiao, Nancy Hiu Lan Leung, Yating Cheng, Hui Lei, Shiman Ling, Xia Lin, Ran Tao, Xianzhong Huang, Wenda Guan, Zifeng Yang, Benjamin John Cowling, Mark Zanin and Sook-San Wong
Pathogens 2021, 10(11), 1505; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10111505 - 18 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2319
Abstract
Guangdong province, located in South China, is an important economic hub with a large domestic migrant population and was among the earliest areas to report COVID-19 cases outside of Wuhan. We conducted a cross-sectional, age-stratified serosurvey to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies against [...] Read more.
Guangdong province, located in South China, is an important economic hub with a large domestic migrant population and was among the earliest areas to report COVID-19 cases outside of Wuhan. We conducted a cross-sectional, age-stratified serosurvey to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after the emergence of COVID-19 in Guangdong. We tested 14,629 residual serum samples that were submitted for clinical testing from 21 prefectures between March and June 2020 for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using a magnetic particle based chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay and validated the results using a pseudovirus neutralization assay. We found 21 samples positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG, resulting in an estimated age- and sex-weighted seroprevalence of 0.15% (95% CI: 0.06–0.24%). The overall age-specific seroprevalence was 0.07% (95% CI: 0.01–0.24%) in persons up to 9 years old, 0.22% (95% CI: 0.03–0.79%) in persons aged 10–19, 0.16% (95% CI: 0.07–0.33%) in persons aged 20–39, 0.13% (95% CI: 0.03–0.33%) in persons aged 40–59 and 0.18% (95% CI: 0.07–0.40%) in persons ≥60 years old. Fourteen (67%) samples had pseudovirus neutralization titers to S-protein, suggesting most of the IgG-positive samples were true-positives. Seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 was low, indicating that there were no hidden epidemics during this period. Vaccination is urgently needed to increase population immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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12 pages, 3256 KiB  
Article
IgG Study of Blood Sera of Patients with COVID-19
by Elena Kazachinskaia, Alexander Chepurnov, Dmitry Shcherbakov, Yulia Kononova, Teresa Saroyan, Marina Gulyaeva, Daniil Shanshin, Valeriya Romanova, Olga Khripko, Michail Voevoda and Alexander Shestopalov
Pathogens 2021, 10(11), 1421; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens10111421 - 02 Nov 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1809
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, which began at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, has affected 220 countries and territories to date. In the present study, we studied humoral immunity in samples of the blood sera of COVID-19 convalescents of varying severity and patients who [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which began at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, has affected 220 countries and territories to date. In the present study, we studied humoral immunity in samples of the blood sera of COVID-19 convalescents of varying severity and patients who died due to this infection, using native SARS-CoV-2 and its individual recombinant proteins. The cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV (2002) was also assessed. We used infectious and inactivated SARS-CoV-2/human/RUS/Nsk-FRCFTM-1/2020 strain, inactivated SARS-CoV strain (strain Frankfurt 1, 2002), recombinant proteins, and blood sera of patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The blood sera from patients were analyzed by the Virus Neutralization test, Immunoblotting, and ELISA. The median values and mean ± SD of titers of specific and cross-reactive antibodies in blood sera tested in ELISA were mainly distributed in the following descending order: N > trimer S > RBD. ELISA and immunoblotting revealed a high cross-activity of antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 with the SARS-CoV antigen (2002), mainly with the N protein. The presence of antibodies specific to RBD corresponds with the data on the neutralizing activity of blood sera. According to the neutralization test in a number of cases, higher levels of antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2 were detected in blood serum taken from patients several days before their death than in convalescents with a ranging disease severity. This high level of neutralizing antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 in the blood sera of patients who subsequently died in hospital from COVID-19 requires a thorough study of the role of humoral immunity as well as comorbidity and other factors affecting the humoral response in this disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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10 pages, 2150 KiB  
Article
Relative COVID-19 Viral Persistence and Antibody Kinetics
by Chung-Guei Huang, Avijit Dutta, Ching-Tai Huang, Pi-Yueh Chang, Mei-Jen Hsiao, Yu-Chia Hsieh, Shu-Min Lin, Shin-Ru Shih, Kuo-Chien Tsao and Cheng-Ta Yang
Pathogens 2021, 10(6), 752; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens10060752 - 13 Jun 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2660
Abstract
A total of 15 RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients were admitted to our hospital during the in-itial outbreak in Taiwan. The average time of virus clearance was delayed in seven patients, 24.14 ± 4.33 days compared to 10.25 ± 0.56 days post-symptom onset (PSO) [...] Read more.
A total of 15 RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients were admitted to our hospital during the in-itial outbreak in Taiwan. The average time of virus clearance was delayed in seven patients, 24.14 ± 4.33 days compared to 10.25 ± 0.56 days post-symptom onset (PSO) in the other eight pa-tients. There was strong antibody response in patients with viral persistence at the pharynx, with peak values of serum antibody 677.2 ± 217.8 vs. 76.70 ± 32.11 in patients with delayed versus rapid virus clearance. The patients with delayed viral clearance had excessive antibodies of compromised quality in an early stage with the delay in peak virus neutralization efficacy, 34.14 ± 7.15 versus 12.50 ± 2.35 days PSO in patients with rapid virus clearance. Weak antibody re-sponse of patients with rapid viral clearance was also effective, with substantial and comparable neutralization efficacy, 35.70 ± 8.78 versus 41.37 ± 11.49 of patients with delayed virus clearance. Human Cytokine 48-Plex Screening of the serial sera samples revealed elevated concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in a deceased patient with delayed virus clear-ance and severe disease. The levels were comparatively less in the other two patients who suf-fered from severe disease but eventually survived. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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10 pages, 1800 KiB  
Article
A Cross-Sectional Study of SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence between Fall 2020 and February 2021 in Allegheny County, Western Pennsylvania, USA
by Lingqing Xu, Joshua Doyle, Dominique J. Barbeau, Valerie Le Sage, Alan Wells, W. Paul Duprex, Michael R. Shurin, Sarah E. Wheeler and Anita K. McElroy
Pathogens 2021, 10(6), 710; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens10060710 - 06 Jun 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3305
Abstract
Seroprevalence studies are important for understanding the dynamics of local virus transmission and evaluating community immunity. To assess the seroprevalence for SARS-CoV-2 in Allegheny County, an urban/suburban county in Western PA, 393 human blood samples collected in Fall 2020 and February 2021 were [...] Read more.
Seroprevalence studies are important for understanding the dynamics of local virus transmission and evaluating community immunity. To assess the seroprevalence for SARS-CoV-2 in Allegheny County, an urban/suburban county in Western PA, 393 human blood samples collected in Fall 2020 and February 2021 were examined for spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) and nucleocapsid protein (N) antibodies. All RBD-positive samples were evaluated for virus-specific neutralization activity. Our results showed a seroprevalence of 5.5% by RBD ELISA, 4.5% by N ELISA, and 2.5% for both in Fall 2020, which increased to 24.7% by RBD ELISA, 14.9% by N ELISA, and 12.9% for both in February 2021. Neutralization titer was significantly correlated with RBD titer but not with N titer. Using these two assays, we were able to distinguish infected from vaccinated individuals. In the February cohort, higher median income and white race were associated with serological findings consistent with vaccination. This study demonstrates a 4.5-fold increase in SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence from Fall 2020 to February 2021 in Allegheny County, PA, due to increased incidence of both natural disease and vaccination. Future seroprevalence studies will need to include the effect of vaccination on assay results and incorporate non-vaccine antigens in serological assessments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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11 pages, 2394 KiB  
Article
Longitudinal Development of Antibody Responses in COVID-19 Patients of Different Severity with ELISA, Peptide, and Glycan Arrays: An Immunological Case Series
by Jasmin Heidepriem, Christine Dahlke, Robin Kobbe, René Santer, Till Koch, Anahita Fathi, Bruna M. S. Seco, My L. Ly, Stefan Schmiedel, Dorothee Schwinge, Sonia Serna, Katrin Sellrie, Niels-Christian Reichardt, Peter H. Seeberger, Marylyn M. Addo, Felix F. Loeffler and on behalf of the ID-UKE COVID-19 Study Group
Pathogens 2021, 10(4), 438; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens10040438 - 06 Apr 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3601
Abstract
The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). A better understanding of its immunogenicity can be important for the development of improved diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. Here, we report the longitudinal analysis of three COVID-19 patients with [...] Read more.
The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). A better understanding of its immunogenicity can be important for the development of improved diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. Here, we report the longitudinal analysis of three COVID-19 patients with moderate (#1) and mild disease (#2 and #3). Antibody serum responses were analyzed using spike glycoprotein enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), full-proteome peptide, and glycan microarrays. ELISA immunoglobulin A, G, and M (IgA, IgG, and IgM) signals increased over time for individuals #1 and #2, whereas #3 only showed no clear positive IgG and IgM result. In contrast, peptide microarrays showed increasing IgA/G signal intensity and epitope spread only in the moderate patient #1 over time, whereas early but transient IgA and stable IgG responses were observed in the two mild cases #2 and #3. Glycan arrays showed an interaction of antibodies to fragments of high-mannose and core N-glycans, present on the viral shield. In contrast to protein ELISA, microarrays allow for a deeper understanding of IgA, IgG, and IgM antibody responses to specific epitopes of the whole proteome and glycans of SARS-CoV-2 in parallel. In the future, this may help to better understand and to monitor vaccination programs and monoclonal antibodies as therapeutics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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14 pages, 813 KiB  
Article
Antibodies to Highly Pathogenic A/H5Nx (Clade 2.3.4.4) Influenza Viruses in the Sera of Vietnamese Residents
by Tatyana Ilyicheva, Vasily Marchenko, Olga Pyankova, Anastasia Moiseeva, Tran Thi Nhai, Bui Thi Lan Anh, Trinh Khac Sau, Andrey Kuznetsov, Alexander Ryzhikov and Rinat Maksyutov
Pathogens 2021, 10(4), 394; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens10040394 - 25 Mar 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1844
Abstract
To cause a pandemic, an influenza virus has to overcome two main barriers. First, the virus has to be antigenically new to humans. Second, the virus has to be directly transmitted from humans to humans. Thus, if the avian influenza virus is able [...] Read more.
To cause a pandemic, an influenza virus has to overcome two main barriers. First, the virus has to be antigenically new to humans. Second, the virus has to be directly transmitted from humans to humans. Thus, if the avian influenza virus is able to pass the second barrier, it could cause a pandemic, since there is no immunity to avian influenza in the human population. To determine whether the adaptation process is ongoing, analyses of human sera could be conducted in populations inhabiting regions where pandemic virus variant emergence is highly possible. This study aimed to analyze the sera of Vietnamese residents using hemagglutinin inhibition reaction (HI) and microneutralization (MN) with A/H5Nx (clade 2.3.4.4) influenza viruses isolated in Vietnam and the Russian Federation in 2017–2018. In this study, we used sera from 295 residents of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam collected from three groups: 52 samples were collected from households in Nam Dinh province, where poultry deaths have been reported (2017); 96 (2017) and 147 (2018) samples were collected from patients with somatic but not infectious diseases in Hanoi. In all, 65 serum samples were positive for HI, at least to one H5 virus used in the study. In MN, 47 serum samples neutralizing one or two viruses at dilutions of 1/40 or higher were identified. We postulate that the rapidly evolving A/H5Nx (clade 2.3.4.4) influenza virus is possibly gradually adapting to the human host, insofar as healthy individuals have antibodies to a wide spectrum of variants of that subtype. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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Review

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17 pages, 2077 KiB  
Review
Development and Structural Analysis of Antibody Therapeutics for Filoviruses
by Xiaoying Yu and Erica Ollmann Saphire
Pathogens 2022, 11(3), 374; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens11030374 - 18 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3656
Abstract
The filoviruses, including ebolaviruses and marburgviruses, are among the world’s deadliest pathogens. As the only surface-exposed protein on mature virions, their glycoprotein GP is the focus of current therapeutic monoclonal antibody discovery efforts. With recent technological developments, potent antibodies have been identified from [...] Read more.
The filoviruses, including ebolaviruses and marburgviruses, are among the world’s deadliest pathogens. As the only surface-exposed protein on mature virions, their glycoprotein GP is the focus of current therapeutic monoclonal antibody discovery efforts. With recent technological developments, potent antibodies have been identified from immunized animals and human survivors of virus infections and have been characterized functionally and structurally. Structural insight into how the most successful antibodies target GP further guides vaccine development. Here we review the recent developments in the identification and characterization of neutralizing antibodies and cocktail immunotherapies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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26 pages, 6643 KiB  
Review
Filovirus Neutralising Antibodies: Mechanisms of Action and Therapeutic Application
by Alexander Hargreaves, Caolann Brady, Jack Mellors, Tom Tipton, Miles W. Carroll and Stephanie Longet
Pathogens 2021, 10(9), 1201; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens10091201 - 16 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4489
Abstract
Filoviruses, especially Ebola virus, cause sporadic outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fever with very high case fatality rates in Africa. The 2013–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa provided large survivor cohorts spurring a large number of human studies which showed that specific neutralising antibodies [...] Read more.
Filoviruses, especially Ebola virus, cause sporadic outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fever with very high case fatality rates in Africa. The 2013–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa provided large survivor cohorts spurring a large number of human studies which showed that specific neutralising antibodies played a key role in protection following a natural Ebola virus infection, as part of the overall humoral response and in conjunction with the cellular adaptive response. This review will discuss the studies in survivors and animal models which described protective neutralising antibody response. Their mechanisms of action will be detailed. Furthermore, the importance of neutralising antibodies in antibody-based therapeutics and in vaccine-induced responses will be explained, as well as the strategies to avoid immune escape from neutralising antibodies. Understanding the neutralising antibody response in the context of filoviruses is crucial to furthering our understanding of virus structure and function, in addition to improving current vaccines & antibody-based therapeutics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Antibody Responses to Virus Infections in Humans)
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