An Antibody That May Prevent Influenza B

Abstract

An antibody has been discovered through a variety of techniques that may prevent the influenza B virus. This is critical because the influenza virus of strains A and B have detrimental effects each year. The human monoclonal antibody is called 46B8 and it is an IgG that interacts with a protein called hemagglutinin, which is located on the influenza B virus. It neutralizes the influenza B virus in a variety of ways. First, 46B8 inhibits the conformational change of the HA1 and HA2 subunits of hemagglutinin at low pH. This locks the hemagglutinin protein in the original confirmation and inhibits the function of the virus. Secondly, the antibody is capable of inducing antibody-dependent cytotoxicity (ADCC). This is imperative because it causes the lysis of cells and ultimately leads to the death of infected cells. Overall, monoclonal antibody 46B8 was found capable of completely inhibiting the influenza B virus in mice after administration at 24 and 48 hours post infection. In addition, it was shown to have protection after administration at 72 hours, which is significant because Tamiflu has a threshold of only 48 hours. 46B8 and Tamiflu were also administered together and proved to show optimal results. 46B8 is limited to mice at this time, and has not been approved for human use (Chai et al., 2017).