Can Broadly Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies Lead to a Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine?

While licensed vaccines elicit protective antibody responses against a variety of viral infections, an effective vaccine for hepatitis C virus (HCV) has remained elusive. The extraordinary genetic diversity of HCV and the ability of the virus to evade the immune response have hindered vaccine development efforts. However, recent studies have greatly expanded the number of well characterized broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (bNAbs) against HCV. These bNAbs target relatively conserved HCV epitopes, prevent HCV infection in animal models, and are associated with spontaneous clearance of human HCV infection. In this review, recent high-resolution bNAb epitope mapping and structural analysis of bNAb-epitope complexes that may serve as a guide for vaccine development are discussed along with major obstacles.