Neutralizing Antibodies against Lassa Virus Lineage I
Tierra K. Buck, Adrian Enriquez, Sharon L. Schendel, Michelle Zandonatti, Stephanie Harkins, Haoyang Li, Alex Moon-Walker, James E. Robinson, Luis M. Branco, Robert F. Garry, Erica Ollmann Saphire, Kathryn M. Hastie
Abstract
No vaccine or therapeutics are approved to prevent LASV infection or treat LF. All vaccine platforms currently under development present only the LIV GP sequence. However, our data suggest that the high genetic diversity of LASV may be problematic for designing both a broadly reactive immunogen and therapeutic. Here, we examine antibodies that are highly potent against LIV yet are ineffective against LI. By pinpointing LI mutations responsible for this decrease in antibody efficacy, we suggest that future vaccine platforms may need to incorporate specific LI-like mutations in order to generate a broadly neutralizing antibody response against all LASV lineages.