Short report
Epitope characterization of the protective monoclonal antibody VN04-2 shows broadly neutralizing activity against highly pathogenic H5N1
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* Corresponding author: Brendon J Hanson hbrendon@dso.org.sg
Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO National Laboratories, 27 Medical Dr., 117510, Singapore
Virology Journal 2008, 5:80 doi:10.1186/1743-422X-5-80
Published: 11 July 2008Abstract
The monoclonal antibody VN04-2 was previously shown to protect mice against lethal A/Vietnam/1203/04 H5N1 virus challenge when administered pre- and post-infection. In this study, we characterized the binding requirements of this antibody using direct binding to hemagglutinin and neutralization assays with H5N1 virus-like particles (H5N1-VLP) of eight recent H5N1 strains representing the major mutations within the 140s antigenic loop. Binding was clade independent and 3 mutations within this antigenic region are required before escape is possible, suggesting that apart from the H5N1 viruses circulating in Indonesia, VN04-2 may provide protection against H5N1 viruses from all other regions.