Study finds antibody that 'neutralizes' Zika virus
Staff Writer |
Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, have isolated a human monoclonal antibody that in a mouse model "markedly reduced" infection by the Zika virus.
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The antibody, called ZIKV-117, also protected the fetus in pregnant mice infected with the virus, the researchers reported in the journal Nature. Zika is believed to cause microcephaly, unusually small heads, and other congenital malformations in children born to infected women.
Similar protection studies in primates are warranted, and if the findings hold up, ZIKV-177 could be developed as a protective antibody treatment for pregnant women at risk of Zika infection, the researchers concluded.
The findings may also aid efforts to develop an effective anti-Zika vaccine, said James Crowe Jr., M.D., director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center and co-corresponding author of the paper with Michael S. Diamond, M.D., Ph.D., at Washington University.
"These naturally occurring human antibodies isolated from humans represent the first medical intervention that prevents Zika infection and damage to fetuses," said Crowe, who also is Ann Scott Carell Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
"We're excited because the data suggests we may have antibody treatments in hand that could be developed for use in pregnant women," he said.
"The remarkable potency and breadth of inhibition by ZIKV-117 has great promise," Diamond said, "as it was able to inhibit infection by strains from both Africa and America in cell culture and in animals, including during pregnancy."
Diamond is associate director of The Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology & Immunotherapy Programs at Washington University.
Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that has emerged as a global public health threat. In addition to its association with congenital birth defects, Zika has been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disorder that can lead to paralysis and death. ■