Understanding the Determinants of BnAb Induction in Acute HCV Infection

Underwood, Alexander P.; Walker, Melanie R.; Brasher, Nicholas A.; Eltahla, Auda A.; Maher, Lisa; Luciani, Fabio; Lloyd, Andrew R.; Bull, Rowena A.

doi:10.3390/v10110659

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Determinants of BnAb Induction in Acute HCV Infection

by

Alexander P. Underwood

,

Melanie R. Walker

,

Nicholas A. Brasher

,

Auda A. Eltahla

,

Lisa Maher

,

Fabio Luciani

,

Andrew R. Lloyd

and

Rowena A. Bull

^*

School of Medical Sciences and the Kirby Institute, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Viruses 2018, 10(11), 659; https://doi.org/10.3390/v10110659

Submission received: 21 September 2018 / Revised: 31 October 2018 / Accepted: 16 November 2018 / Published: 21 November 2018

(This article belongs to the Section Animal Viruses)

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Abstract

Despite recent advances in curative therapy, hepatitis C virus (HCV) still remains a global threat. In order to achieve global elimination, a prophylactic vaccine should be considered high priority. Previous immunogens used to induce broad neutralising antibodies (BnAbs) have been met with limited success. To improve immunogen design, factors associated with the early development of BnAbs in natural infection must first be understood. In this study, 43 subjects identified with acute HCV were analysed longitudinally using a panel of heterogeneous HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp), to understand the emergence of BnAbs. Compared to those infected with a single genotype, early BnAb development was associated with subjects co-infected with at least 2 HCV subtypes during acute infection. In those that were mono-infected, BnAbs were seen to emerge with increasing viral persistence. If subjects acquired a secondary infection, nAb breadth was seen to boost upon viral re-exposure. Importantly, this data highlights the potential for multivalent and prime-boost vaccine strategies to induce BnAbs against HCV in humans. However, the data also indicate that the infecting genotype may influence the development of BnAbs. Therefore, the choice of antigen will need to be carefully considered in future vaccine trials.

Keywords: hepatitis C virus; neutralising antibodies; vaccine; reinfection

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MDPI and ACS Style

Underwood, A.P.; Walker, M.R.; Brasher, N.A.; Eltahla, A.A.; Maher, L.; Luciani, F.; Lloyd, A.R.; Bull, R.A. Understanding the Determinants of BnAb Induction in Acute HCV Infection. Viruses 2018, 10, 659. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10110659

AMA Style

Underwood AP, Walker MR, Brasher NA, Eltahla AA, Maher L, Luciani F, Lloyd AR, Bull RA. Understanding the Determinants of BnAb Induction in Acute HCV Infection. Viruses. 2018; 10(11):659. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10110659

Chicago/Turabian Style

Underwood, Alexander P., Melanie R. Walker, Nicholas A. Brasher, Auda A. Eltahla, Lisa Maher, Fabio Luciani, Andrew R. Lloyd, and Rowena A. Bull. 2018. "Understanding the Determinants of BnAb Induction in Acute HCV Infection" Viruses 10, no. 11: 659. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10110659

APA Style

Underwood, A. P., Walker, M. R., Brasher, N. A., Eltahla, A. A., Maher, L., Luciani, F., Lloyd, A. R., & Bull, R. A. (2018). Understanding the Determinants of BnAb Induction in Acute HCV Infection. Viruses, 10(11), 659. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10110659

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Understanding the Determinants of BnAb Induction in Acute HCV Infection

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