A potential role for monoclonal antibodies in prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of influenza.

The role of humoral response in the effective control of infection by influenza viruses is well known, but the protection is usually limited to the infecting or vaccinating isolate and to few related strains. Recent studies have evidenced the existence of B-cell epitopes broadly conserved among different influenza subtypes recognized by monoclonal antibodies endowed with unprecedented broad activity. In this review, all major monoclonal antibodies directed against different influenza virus proteins are reported and their potential in the design of new anti-influenza prophylactic or therapeutic strategies is discussed.