Antibody Responses toward the Major Antigenic Sites of Influenza B Virus Hemagglutinin in Mice, Ferrets, and Humans.

ABSTRACT: The influenza B virus hemagglutinin contains four major antigenic sites (the 120 loop, the 150 loop, the 160 loop, and the 190 helix) within the head domain. These immunodominant antigenic sites are the main targets of neutralizing antibodies and are subject to antigenic drift. Yet little is known about the specific antibody responses toward each site in terms of antibody prevalence and hemagglutination inhibition activity. In this study, we used modified hemagglutinins of influenza B virus which display only one or none of the major antigenic sites to measure antibody responses toward the classical as well as the noncanonical epitopes in mice, ferrets, and humans. With our novel reagents, we found that both hemagglutination inhibition antibodies and total IgGs were mostly induced by the m

SUBMITTER: Sun W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6321909 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature