Monoclonal antibodies can mediate protection against Ebola virus (EBOV) infection through direct neutralization as well as through the recruitment of innate immune effector functions. However, the antibody functional response following survival of acute EBOV disease has not been well characterized.
In this study, serum antibodies from Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors from Sierra Leone were profiled to capture variation in overall subclass/isotype abundance, neutralizing activity, and innate immune effector functions. Antibodies from EVD survivors exhibited robust innate immune effector functions, mediated primarily by IgG1 and IgA1.
Studies in animal models indicates that protective antibodies use both neutralization and recruitment of innate immune effector functions to provide protection against a lethal EBOV infection. Here we show that the humoral immune response that develops in human survivors of EVD resembles that of protective monoclonal antibodies, marked by the development of both neutralizing and polyfunctional antibodies. Importantly, our analysis demonstrates that both IgG1 and IgA antibodies mediate effector functions.
This research was supported by funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Read the study: Survivors of Ebola Virus Disease Develop Polyfunctional Antibody Responses. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 221, Issue 1, 1 January 2020, Pages 156–161, doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz364.
