Structures of Two Human Astrovirus Capsid/Neutralizing Antibody Complexes Reveal Distinct Epitopes and Inhibition of Virus Attachment to Cells
Lena Ricemeyer, Nayeli Aguilar-Hernández, Tomás López, Rafaela Espinosa, Sarah Lanning, Santanu Mukherjee, Carolina Cuellar, Susana López, Carlos F. Arias, Rebecca M. DuBois
Abstract
Human astroviruses infect nearly every person in the world during childhood and cause diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. Despite the prevalence of this virus, little is known about how antibodies block astrovirus infection. Here, we determined the crystal structures of the astrovirus capsid protein in complex with two virus-neutralizing antibodies. We show that the antibodies bind to two distinct sites on the capsid spike domain, however, both antibodies block virus attachment to human cells. Importantly, our findings support the use of the human astrovirus capsid spike as an antigen in a subunit-based vaccine to prevent astrovirus disease.