The knob proteins of human adenovirus in species F elicit
cross-neutralizing antibody responses
Abstract
Human adenovirus (HAdV) type 40 in species F (HAdV-F40) and HAdV-F41
represent the third most prevalent causative agents of non-bacterial
acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children, following norovirus
and rotavirus. Despite their significant contribution to global child
morbidity, vaccines to preemptively combat these viruses remain elusive.
In this study, we scrutinize the potential for cross-neutralization
between HAdV-F40 and HAdV-F41 using the knob protein of the fiber-2
protein immunized sera. To this end, we immunized female BALB/c mice
with synthetically produced knob proteins of the fiber-2 protein from
HAdV-F40 and HAdV-F41. Subsequently, we implemented a series of assays
to evaluate the results, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent,
micro-neutralization, immunofluorescence, and quantitative polymerase
chain reaction. We found that HAdV-F40-knob and HAdV-F41-knob immunized
sera could effectively neutralize HAdV-F40 and HAdV-F41, indicating a
mutual cross-neutralizing effect. Notably, the serum immunized with
HAdV-F40-knob demonstrated a stronger neutralization effect, suggesting
the potential to develop a subunit vaccine that can simultaneously
counteract both viruses. Our findings underscore the potential of knob
protein immunization in evoking a cross-neutralizing antibody response
between HAdV-F40 and HAdV-F41. This suggests a promising avenue for
developing subunit vaccines against HAdV-F40 and HAdV-F41 and provides a
novel perspective on the potential of neutralizing antibodies to protect
against these two types of HAdV.