A conditionally replication-defective cytomegalovirus vaccine elicits potent and diverse functional monoclonal antibodies in a phase I clinical trial

Abstract A conditionally replication-defective human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) vaccine, V160, was shown to be safe and immunogenic in a two-part, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase I clinical trial (NCT01986010). However, the specificities and functional properties of V160-elicited anti...

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Main Authors: Leike Li, Daniel C. Freed, Yaping Liu, Fengsheng Li, Diane F. Barrett, Wei Xiong, Xiaohua Ye, Stuart P. Adler, Richard E. Rupp, Dai Wang, Ningyan Zhang, Tong-Ming Fu, Zhiqiang An
Format: article
Language:EN
Published: Nature Portfolio 2021
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Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/8407aee0085d434d8f8d2b457a78ae7d
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Summary:Abstract A conditionally replication-defective human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) vaccine, V160, was shown to be safe and immunogenic in a two-part, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase I clinical trial (NCT01986010). However, the specificities and functional properties of V160-elicited antibodies remain undefined. Here, we characterized 272 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) isolated from single memory B cells of six V160-vaccinated subjects. The mAbs bind to diverse HCMV antigens, including multiple components of the pentamer, gB, and tegument proteins. The most-potent neutralizing antibodies target the pentamer-UL subunits. The binding sites of the antibodies overlap with those of antibodies responding to natural HCMV infection. The majority of the neutralizing antibodies target the gHgL subunit. The non-neutralizing antibodies predominantly target the gB and pp65 proteins. Sequence analysis indicated that V160 induced a class of gHgL antibodies expressing the HV1-18/KV1-5 germline genes in multiple subjects. This study provides valuable insights into primary targets for anti-HCMV antibodies induced by V160 vaccination.