Cross-Reactive Antibody Responses against Nonpoliovirus Enteroviruses
Amy Rosenfeld, Edmund Qian Long Shen, M Meléndez, Nischay Mishra, W. Ian Lipkin, Vincent R. Racaniello
Abstract
Enteroviruses (EVs) are common human pathogens. Although infection with EVs leads to cross-reactive antibodies, the clinical relevance of these antibodies is unclear given the estimated incidence of EV infections in the general population of one per year. The hypothesis that anti-EV cross-reactive antibodies can bind and neutralize heterologous EVs was investigated using polyclonal sera collected from animals immunized with individual EVs. Both binding and neutralization activities against heterologous EVs was observed in these sera, and we speculate that cross-reactive antibodies may modulate infection and disease severity. Defining the antigenic relationship among EVs may provide insights into the epidemiology and pathogenesis of enterovirus infections.