Development and applications of universal H7 subtype-specific antibodies for the analysis of influenza H7N9 vaccines. Issue 9 (25th February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gravel, Caroline; Elmgren, Cathie; Muralidharan, Abenaya; Hashem, Anwar M.; Jaentschke, Bozena; Xu, Kangwei; Widdison, Jennifer; Arnold, Kristin; Farnsworth, Aaron; Rinfret, Aline; Van Domselaar, Gary; Wang, Junzhi; Li, Changgui; Li, Xuguang
• Is Part Of: Vaccine. Volume 33:Issue 9(2015)
• Page Start: 1129
• Page End: 1134
• Publication Date: 2015-02-25
• Subjects: H7N9 influenza vaccine -- Universal H7 epitope -- Vaccine quantitation; Vaccines -- Periodicals; 615.372
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.01.034
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-410X

Abstract

Highlights: H7N9 is a newly emerging influenza virus of high virulence. H7N9 should be developed to prevent H7N9 influenza. A universal antibody against all H7 subtypes has been developed. Universal antibody based assay can quantitatively analyze H7N9 vaccines. Abstract: H7N9 is a newly emerged avian influenza virus with a relatively high mortality rate in humans. At this time, there is no licensed vaccine for human protection. Development of analytical tools for H7N9 vaccine could facilitate vaccine development. Here, a universally conserved epitope in all H7 hemagglutinin (HA) sequences was identified through comprehensive bioinformatics analyses. The peptide epitope, RSGSSFYAEMK, (aa positions 149 to 159), is located on the head of the HA molecule. Antibodies generated against this universal H7 epitope were remarkably specific against H7 viral sequence with no detectable cross-reactivity to other HA subtypes. A new immunoblotting assay based on the universal H7 antibody was developed and compared with the traditional single radial immunodiffusion assay (SRID) for potency analyses of candidate H7N9 vaccines. This new assay was more sensitive and rapid compared to SRID. In addition to statistically acceptable precision and reproducibility, the new assay differs from many other alternative potency assays for influenza vaccine in that it is potentially stability-indicating, which is an important requirement for industry vaccine stability studies analyses. Furthermore, the robustness of this new assay was demonstrated by the quantitative determination of HA content in four H7N9 vaccines (split or inactivated) from different manufacturers.