Structural basis for childhood antibody recognition of the human metapneumovirus fusion protein.

ABSTRACT: Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a significant cause of acute respiratory illness in children and older adults, with most children becoming seropositive by five years of age. The hMPV fusion (F) protein is the sole target of neutralizing antibodies, and while most common B-cell-targeted neutralizing epitopes on the hMPV F protein have been determined in hMPV-infected adults, the antibody response in hMPV-infected children remains undefined. We isolate five human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from hMPV-infected children, and evaluate their binding avidity, neutralization potency, epitope specificity, and in vivo efficacy. All mAbs are neutralizing, and epitope binning reveals four different epitopes targeted by the mAbs. Cryo-EM structures of four mAbs in complex with the hMPV F protein revea

SUBMITTER: Khalil AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12868774 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature