[HTML][HTML] Development of a highly protective combination monoclonal antibody therapy against Chikungunya virus

P Pal, KA Dowd, JD Brien, MA Edeling… - PLoS …, 2013 - journals.plos.org
P Pal, KA Dowd, JD Brien, MA Edeling, S Gorlatov, S Johnson, I Lee, W Akahata, GJ Nabel…
PLoS pathogens, 2013journals.plos.org
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that causes global
epidemics of a debilitating polyarthritis in humans. As there is a pressing need for the
development of therapeutic agents, we screened 230 new mouse anti-CHIKV monoclonal
antibodies (MAbs) for their ability to inhibit infection of all three CHIKV genotypes. Four of 36
neutralizing MAbs (CHK-102, CHK-152, CHK-166, and CHK-263) provided complete
protection against lethality as prophylaxis in highly susceptible immunocompromised mice …
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that causes global epidemics of a debilitating polyarthritis in humans. As there is a pressing need for the development of therapeutic agents, we screened 230 new mouse anti-CHIKV monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for their ability to inhibit infection of all three CHIKV genotypes. Four of 36 neutralizing MAbs (CHK-102, CHK-152, CHK-166, and CHK-263) provided complete protection against lethality as prophylaxis in highly susceptible immunocompromised mice lacking the type I IFN receptor (Ifnar−/−) and mapped to distinct epitopes on the E1 and E2 structural proteins. CHK-152, the most protective MAb, was humanized, shown to block viral fusion, and require Fc effector function for optimal activity in vivo. In post-exposure therapeutic trials, administration of a single dose of a combination of two neutralizing MAbs (CHK-102+CHK-152 or CHK-166+CHK-152) limited the development of resistance and protected immunocompromised mice against disease when given 24 to 36 hours before CHIKV-induced death. Selected pairs of highly neutralizing MAbs may be a promising treatment option for CHIKV in humans.
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