Antibodies to respiratory syncytial virus polypeptides and their significance in human infection.
The human antibody response to respiratory syncytial (RS) virus infection was investigated using radioimmunoprecipitation analysis (RIPA). A total of nine RS virus-specific proteins, VP200, VGP95, VP68, VGP48, VPN41, VP35, VP27, VP23 and VGP20 were identified by comparing 35S- or 3H-labelled extracts of infected and uninfected HEp-2 cells, and by radioimmunoprecipitation using a hyperimmune human serum. Three glycopeptides, VGP95, VGP48 and VGP20, were identified by incorporation of [3H]glucosamine, and two of these (VGP48 and VGP20) were assumed to be part of a single disulphide-bonded polypeptide since they were precipitated by a monoclonal antibody raised against a surface protein. Human serum antibodies to three major RS virus proteins, VGP95, VGP48/VGP20 and VPN41 were measured by RIPA using radioiodinated RS virus antigens. Sera from a group of mothers whose babies escaped RS virus infection during a local epidemic showed increased antibody levels to VPN41 when compared to sera from mothers whose babies had become infected with RS virus within the first 6 months of life. In infants who remained uninfected with RS virus during the first 12 months of life the maternal gift of antibody decayed to about 50% at 3 months with traces of antibodies detected in a few sera at 12 months. The antibody levels detected in the sera of infants less than 3 months old convalescent from primary RS virus infection did not exceed the mean levels present in the serum of uninfected babies. Infants between the ages of 6 and 12 months were able to mount an IgG response to VPN41 and VGP48 but, unlike adults and older children, a particularly striking finding was their failure to produce antibodies to VGP95.
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000032:analysis; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007223:Infant; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay / Q000379:methods; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses / Q000276:immunology*; D010253:Respirovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000276:immunology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D010455:Peptides; D014764:Viral Proteins