|
1
|
Adhikari A, Abayasingam A, Brasher NA, Kim HN, Lord M, Agapiou D, Maher L, Rodrigo C, Lloyd AR, Bull RA, Tedla N. Characterization of antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis in patients infected with hepatitis C virus with different clinical outcomes. J Med Virol 2024; 96:e29381. [PMID: 38235622 PMCID: PMC10953302 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Early neutralizing antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV) and CD8 + T cell effector responses can lead to viral clearance. However, these functions alone are not sufficient to protect patients against HCV infection, thus undefined additional antiviral immune mechanisms are required. In recent years, Fc-receptor-dependent antibody effector functions, particularly, antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) were shown to offer immune protection against several RNA viruses. However, its development and clinical role in patients with HCV infection remain unknown. In this study, we found that patients with chronic GT1a or GT3a HCV infection had significantly higher concentrations of anti-envelope 2 (E2) antibodies, predominantly IgG1 subclass, than patients that cleared the viruses while the latter had antibodies with higher affinities. 97% of the patients with HCV had measurable ADCP of whom patients with chronic disease showed significantly higher ADCP than those who naturally cleared the virus. Epitope mapping studies showed that patients with antibodies that target antigenic domains on the HCV E2 protein that are known to associate with neutralization function are also strongly associated with ADCP, suggesting antibodies with overlapping/dual functions. Correlation studies showed that ADCP significantly correlated with plasma anti-E2 antibody levels and neutralization function regardless of clinical outcome and genotype of infecting virus, while a significant correlation between ADCP and affinity was only evident in patients that cleared the virus. These results suggest ADCP was mostly driven by antibody titer in patients with chronic disease while maintained in clearers due to the quality (affinity) of their anti-E2 antibodies despite having lower antibody titers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anurag Adhikari
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Department of Infection and Immunology, Kathmandu Research Institute for Biological Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal
| | - Arunasingam Abayasingam
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Nicholas A Brasher
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ha Na Kim
- Molecular Surface Interaction Laboratory, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Megan Lord
- Molecular Surface Interaction Laboratory, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - David Agapiou
- The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Lisa Maher
- The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Chaturaka Rodrigo
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Andrew R Lloyd
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rowena A Bull
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Nicodemus Tedla
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| |
Collapse
|