Summary
Respiratory syncytial (RS) virus continues to cause serious human respiratory disease and no prophylactic vaccine is yet available. Serum antibodies to RS virus fusion protein (F) that have the appropriate specificities and activities could confer protection against severe RS virus infections. To explore human serum antibody responses to RS virus F we first characterised four epitopes on F and then measured the concentrations of human serum antibodies to these sites for 389 sera. Individuals varied in serum antibody concentration to the epitopes. The distribution patterns of the concentrations of antibodies reactive to each epitope were different. Antigenic variation of F at these epitopes in Southampton RS virus isolates was examined by immunofluorescence. The F proteins from different isolates varied within and between RS virus subtypes which co-circulated in the outbreak of winter 1985–1986. Variations in F detected by immunofluorescence were consistent with differences between the strains' susceptibilities to monoclonal antibody antiviral action.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Alper CA, Kruskall MS, Marcus-Bagley BS, Craven DE, Katz AJ, Brink SJ, Dienstag JL, Awdeh Z, Yunis EJ (1989) Genetic prediction of nonresponse to hepatitis B vaccine. N Engl J Med 321: 708–712
Bangham CRM, Openshaw PJM, Ball LA, King AMQ, Wertz GW, Askonas BA (1986) Human and murine cytotoxic T-cells specific to respiratory syncytial virus recognise the viral nucleoprotein (N), but not the major glycoprotein (G), expressed by vaccinia virus recombinants. J Immunol 137: 3973–3977
Beeler JA, Van Wyke Coeling K (1989) Neutralization epitopes of the F glycoprotein of respiratory syncytial virus: effect of mutation upon fusion function. J Virol 63: 2941–2950
Coates HV, Kendrick L, Chanock RM (1963) Antigenic differences between two strains of respiratory syncytial virus. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 112: 958–964
Hall CB, Geiman JM, Biggar R, Kotok DI, Hogan PM, Douglas RG, Jr (1976) Respiratory syncytial virus infections within families. N Engl J Med 294: 414–419
Johnson PR, Spriggs MK, Olmsted RA, Collins PL (1987) The G glycoprotein of human respiratory syncytial viruses of subgroups A and B: extensive sequence divergence between antigenically related proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84: 5625–5629
Kim HW, Canchola JG, Brandt CD, Pyles G, Chanock RM, Jensen K, Parrott RH (1969) Respiratory syncytial virus disease in infants despite prior administration of inactivated vaccine. Am J Epidemiol 89: 422–33
Levine S, Klaiber-Franco R, Paradiso PR (1987) Demonstration that glycoprotein G is the attachment protein of respiratory syncytial virus. J Gen Virol 68: 2521–2524
Lopez JA, Penas C, Garcia-Barreno B, Melero JA, Portela A (1990) Location of a highly conserved neutralising epitope on the F glycoprotein of human respiratory syncytical virus. J Virol 64: 927–930
Mathur U, Bentley DW, Hall CB (1980) Concurrent respiratory syncytial virus and influenza A infections in the institutionalised and chronically ill. Ann Intern Med 93: 49–52
McIntosh K, Chanock RM (1985) Respiratory syncytial virus In: Fields BN (ed) Virology. Raven Press, New York, pp 1285–1304
McKay E, Higgens P, Tyrrell D, Pringle C (1988) Immunogenicity and pathogenicity of temperature-sensitive modified respiratory syncytial virus in adult volunteers. J Med Virol 25: 411–421
Milner ME, De La Monte SM, Hutchins GM (1985) Fatal respiratory syncytial virus infection in severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome. Am J Dis Child 139: 1111–1114
Mufson MA, Belshe RB, Orvell C, Norrby E (1987) Subgroup characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus recovered from children with two consecutive infections. J Clin Microbiol 25: 1535–1539
Mufson MA, Orvell C, Norrby E (1985) Two distinct subtypes of human respiratory syncytial virus. J Gen Virol 66: 2111–2124
Natali A, Oxford JS, Schild GC (1981) Frequency of naturally occurring antibody to influenza virus antigenic variants selected in vitro with monoclonal antibody. J Hygiene 87: 185–190
Ogilvie MM, Vanthenen AS, Radford M, Codd J, Key S (1981) Maternal antibody and respiratory syncytial virus infection in infancy. J Med Virol 7: 263–271
Olmsted RA, Buller RML, Collins PL, London WT, Beeler JA, Prince GA, Chanock RM, Murphy BR (1988) Evaluation in non-human primates of the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing the F or G glycoprotein of respiratory syncytial virus. Vaccine 6: 519–524
Pemberton RM, Cannon MJ, Openshaw PJM, Ball LA, Wertz GW, Askonas BA (1987) Cytotoxic T-cell specificity for respiratory syncytial virus proteins: fusion protein is an important target antigen. J Gen Virol 68: 2177–2182
Prince GA, Hemming VG, Horswood RL, Chanock RM (1985) Immunoprophylaxis and immunotherapy of respiratory syncytial virus infection in the cotton rat. Virus Res 3: 193–206
Routledge EG, Willcocks MM, Samson ACR, Morgan L, Scott R, Anderson JJ, Toms GL (1988) The purification of four respiratory syncytial virus proteins and their evaluation as protective agents against experimental infection in BALB/C mice. J Gen Virol 69: 293–303
Russi JC, Chiparelli H, Montano A, Etorena P, Hortal M (1989) Respiratory syncytial virus subgroups and pneumonia in children. Lancet ii: 1039–1040
Sims DG, Downam MAPS, McQuillin J, Gardner PS (1976) Respiratory syncytial virus infection in north-east England. Br Med J 2: 1095–1098
Taylor CE, Morrow S, Scott M, Young B, Toms GL (1989) Comparative virulence of RS virus subgroups A and B. Lancet i: 777–778
Taylor G, Stott EJ, Bew M, Fernie BF, Cote PJ, Collins AP, Hughes M, Jebbett J (1984) Monoclonal antibodies protect against respiratory syncytial virus infection in mice. Immunology 52: 137–142
Taylor G, Stott EJ, Furze J, Ford J, Sullender W, Wertz G (1990) Identification of protective epitopes on the F protein of RSV. In: Abstracts VIIIth International Congress of Virology, Berlin, pp 106
Trudel M, Nadon F, Seguin C, Dionne G, Lacroix M (1987) Identification of a synthetic peptide as part of a major neutralization epitope of respiratory syncytial virus. J Gen Virol 68: 2273–2280
Walsh EE, Hruska J (1983) Monoclonal antibodies to respiratory syncytial virus proteins: identification of the fusion protein. J Virol 47: 171–177
Walsh EE, Cote PJ, Fernie BF, Schlesinger JJ, Brandriss MW (1986) Analysis of the respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. J Gen Virol 67: 505–513
Wang ML, Skehel JJ, Wiley DC (1986) Comparative analyses of the specificities of anti-influenza haemagglutinin antibodies in human sera. J Virol 57: 124–127
Ward KA, Lambden PR, Ogilvie MM, Watt PJ (1983) Antibodies to respiratory syncytial virus polypeptides and their significance in human infection. J Gen Virol 64: 1867–1876
Watanabe M, Ishil T, Nariuchi H (1981) Fractionation of IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3 immunoglobulins from mouse serum by protein A-sepharose column chromatography. Jpn J Exp Med 51 1: 65–70
Watt PJ, Robinson BS, Pringle CR, Tyrrell DAJ (1990) Determinants of susceptibility to challenge and the antibody response of adult volunteers given experimental respiratory syncytial virus vaccines. Vaccine 8: 231–236
Watt PJ, Zardis M, Lambden PR (1986) Age related IgG subclass response to respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein in infected infants. Clin Exp Immunol 64: 503–509
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Robinson, B.S., Everson, J.S. Epitope specificities of human serum antibodies reactive with respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein. Archives of Virology 125, 273–286 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01309644
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01309644