prM-reactive antibodies reveal a role for partially mature virions in dengue virus pathogenesis

Kimberly A. Dowd, Devika Sirohi, Scott D. Speer, Laura A. VanBlargan, Rita E. Chen, Swati Mukherjee, Bradley M. Whitener, Jennifer Govero, Maya Aleshnick, Bridget Larman, Soila Sukupolvi-Petty, Madhumati Sevvana, Andrew S. Miller, Thomas Klose, Aihua Zheng, Scott Koenig, Margaret Kielian, Richard J. Kuhn, Michael S. Diamond, Theodore C. Pierson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cleavage of the flavivirus premembrane (prM) structural protein during maturation can be inefficient. The contribution of partially mature flavivirus virions that retain uncleaved prM to pathogenesis during primary infection is unknown. To investigate this question, we characterized the functional properties of newly-generated dengue virus (DENV) prM-reactive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in vitro and using a mouse model of DENV disease. Anti-prM mAbs neutralized DENV infection in a virion maturation state–dependent manner. Alanine scanning mutagenesis and cryoelectron microscopy of anti-prM mAbs in complex with immature DENV defined two modes of attachment to a single antigenic site. In vivo, passive transfer of intact anti-prM mAbs resulted in an antibody-dependent enhancement of disease. However, protection against DENV-induced lethality was observed when the transferred mAbs were genetically modified to inhibit their ability to interact with Fcγ receptors. These data establish that in addition to mature forms of the virus, partially mature infectious prM+ virions can also contribute to pathogenesis during primary DENV infections.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2218899120
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume120
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 17 2023

Keywords

  • antibody-dependent enhancement
  • dengue virus
  • prM antibody
  • virion maturation

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