title: A game of numbers: the stoichiometry of antibody-mediated neutralization of flavivirus infection.
abstract: The humoral response contributes to the protection against viral pathogens. Although antibodies have the potential to inhibit viral infections via several mechanisms, an ability to neutralize viruses directly may be particularly important. Neutralizing antibody titers are commonly used as predictors of protection from infection, especially in the context of vaccine responses and immunity. Despite the simplicity of the concept, how antibody binding results in virus inactivation is incompletely understood despite decades of research. Flaviviruses have been an attractive system in which to seek a structural and quantitative understanding of how antibody interactions with virions modulate infection because of the contribution of antibodies to both protection and pathogenesis. This review will present a stoichiometric model of antibody-mediated neutralization of flaviviruses and discuss how these concepts can inform the development of vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Viral Pathogenesis Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Electronic address: piersontc@niaid.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Theodore C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Pierson
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine, Molecular Microbiology, Pathology & Immunology, Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Electronic address: diamond@borcim.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Diamond
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000276:immunology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D018177:Flavivirus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D014765:Viral Vaccines
keywords: Antibody; Enhancement; Flavivirus; Maturation; Neutralization; Pathogenesis; Protection; Stoichiometry; Vaccine