Epitope determinants of a chimpanzee Fab antibody that efficiently cross-neutralizes dengue type 1 and type 2 viruses map to inside and in close proximity to fusion loop of the dengue type 2 virus envelope glycoprotein.

The epitope determinants of chimpanzee Fab antibody 1A5, which have been shown to be broadly reactive to flaviviruses and efficient for cross-neutralization of dengue virus type 1 and type 2 (DENV-1 and DENV-2), were studied by analysis of DENV-2 antigenic variants. Sequence analysis showed that one antigenic variant contained a Gly-to-Val substitution at position 106 within the flavivirus-conserved fusion peptide loop of the envelope protein (E), and another variant contained a His-to-Gln substitution at position 317 in E. Substitution of Gly(106)Val in DENV-2 E reduced the binding affinity of Fab 1A5 by approximately 80-fold, whereas substitution of His(317)Gln had little or no effect on antibody binding compared to the parental virus. Treatment of DENV-2 with beta-mercaptoethanol abolished binding of Fab 1A5, indicating that disulfide bridges were required for the structural integrity of the Fab 1A5 epitope. Binding of Fab 1A5 to DENV-2 was competed by an oligopeptide containing the fusion peptide sequence as shown by competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Both DENV-2 antigenic variants were shown to be attenuated, or at least similar to the parental virus, when evaluated for growth in cultured cells or for neurovirulence in mice. Fab 1A5 inhibited low pH-induced membrane fusion of mosquito C6/36 cells infected with DENV-1 or DENV-2, as detected by reduced syncytium formation. Both substitutions in DENV-2 E lowered the pH threshold for membrane fusion, as measured in a fusion-from-within assay. In the three-dimensional structure of E, Gly(106) in domain II and His(317) in domain III of the opposite E monomer were spatially close. From the locations of these amino acids, Fab 1A5 appears to recognize a novel epitope that has not been mapped before with a flavivirus monoclonal antibody.