Abstract
Despite the considerable research that has been carried out into viral neutralization by antiviral antibody, its mechanisms remain poorly understood1. Cases have been reported in which antiviral antibody can inhibit viral replication without inhibiting the binding and uptake of virus by susceptible cells1. It has been shown that many enveloped viruses enter their target cells by endocytosis and are subsequently located in cellular compartments of increasing acidity2. With several enveloped viruses this acidic pH can catalyse a fusion reaction between the membrane of the virus particle and that of a prelysosomal endosome, thus enabling the viral core to enter the cytosol and replication to commence2,3. We have recently demonstrated that such an endosomal fusion event at mild acidic pH is involved in the entry pathway of the enveloped flavivirus, West Nile virus (WNV), into macrophages4–6. We now show that antiviral antibody can neutralize WNV by inhibiting this intra-endosomal acid-catalysed fusion step and we speculate on possible implications for the future design of antiviral vaccines.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dimmock, N. J. J. gen Virol. 65, 1015–1022 (1984).
Marsh, M. Biochem. J. 218, 1–10 (1984).
White, J., Kielian, M. & Helenius, A. Q. Rev. Biophys. 16, 151–195 (1983).
Gollins, S. W. & Porterfield, J. S. J. gen. Virol. 65, 1261–1272 (1984).
Gollins, S. W. & Porterfield, J. S. J. gen. Virol. 66, 1969–1982 (1985).
Gollins, S. W. & Porterfield, J. S. J. gen. Virol. 67, 157–166 (1986).
Peiris, J. S. M. & Porterfield, J. S. Nature 282, 509–511 (1979).
Peiris, J. S. M., Gordon, S., Unkeless, J. C. & Porterfield, J. S. Nature 289, 189–191 (1981).
Porterfield, J. S. J. Hyg., Camb. 89, 355–364 (1982).
Halstead, S. B. Semin. Hemat. 19, 116–131 (1982).
Helenius, A., Marsh, M. & White, J. J. gen. Virol. 58, 47–61 (1982).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gollins, S., Porterfield, J. A new mechanism for the neutralization of enveloped viruses by antiviral antibody. Nature 321, 244–246 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321244a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321244a0
This article is cited by
-
Of cascades and perfect storms: the immunopathogenesis of dengue haemorrhagic fever‐dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS)
Immunology & Cell Biology (2007)
-
Structural basis of West Nile virus neutralization by a therapeutic antibody
Nature (2005)
-
Molecular mechanism of pathogenesis of dengue virus: Entry and fusion with target cell
Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry (2005)
-
Antibody-dependent enhancement of hantavirus infection in macrophage cell lines
Archives of Virology (1992)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.