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Lempp FA, Volz T, Cameroni E, Benigni F, Zhou J, Rosen LE, Noack J, Zatta F, Kaiser H, Bianchi S, Lombardo G, Jaconi S, Vincenzetti L, Imam H, Soriaga LB, Passini N, Belnap DM, Schulze A, Lütgehetmann M, Telenti A, Cathcart AL, Snell G, Purcell LA, Hebner CM, Urban S, Dandri M, Corti D, Schmid MA. Potent broadly neutralizing antibody VIR-3434 controls hepatitis B and D virus infection and reduces HBsAg in humanized mice. J Hepatol 2023; 79:1129-1138. [PMID: 37459920 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Chronic hepatitis B is a global public health problem, and coinfection with hepatitis delta virus (HDV) worsens disease outcome. Here, we describe a hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg)-targeting monoclonal antibody (mAb) with the potential to treat chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis D. METHODS HBsAg-specific mAbs were isolated from memory B cells of HBV vaccinated individuals. In vitro neutralization was determined against HBV and HDV enveloped with HBsAg representing eight HBV genotypes. Human liver-chimeric mice were treated twice weekly with a candidate mAb starting 3 weeks post HBV inoculation (spreading phase) or during stable HBV or HBV/HDV coinfection (chronic phase). RESULTS From a panel of human anti-HBs mAbs, VIR-3434 was selected and engineered for pre-clinical development. VIR-3434 targets a conserved, conformational epitope within the antigenic loop of HBsAg and neutralized HBV and HDV infection with higher potency than hepatitis B immunoglobulins in vitro. Neutralization was pan-genotypic against strains representative of HBV genotypes A-H. In the spreading phase of HBV infection in human liver-chimeric mice, a parental mAb of VIR-3434 (HBC34) prevented HBV dissemination and the increase in intrahepatic HBV RNA and covalently closed circular DNA. In the chronic phase of HBV infection or co-infection with HDV, HBC34 treatment decreased circulating HBsAg by >1 log and HDV RNA by >2 logs. CONCLUSIONS The potently neutralizing anti-HBs mAb VIR-3434 reduces circulating HBsAg and HBV/HDV viremia in human liver-chimeric mice. VIR-3434 is currently in clinical development for treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B or D. IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus and co-infection with hepatitis D virus place approximately 290 million individuals worldwide at risk of severe liver disease and cancer. Available treatments result in low rates of functional cure or require lifelong therapy that does not eliminate the risk of liver disease. We isolated and characterized a potent human antibody that neutralizes hepatitis B and D viruses and reduces infection in a mouse model. This antibody could provide a new treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis B and D.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tassilo Volz
- Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; German Center for Infection Research, Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems and Heidelberg Sites, Germany
| | - Elisabetta Cameroni
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Fabio Benigni
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Jiayi Zhou
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
| | - Laura E Rosen
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
| | - Julia Noack
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
| | - Fabrizia Zatta
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Hannah Kaiser
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
| | - Siro Bianchi
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Gloria Lombardo
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Jaconi
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Lucia Vincenzetti
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Hasan Imam
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
| | | | - Nadia Passini
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - David M Belnap
- School of Biological Sciences and Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
| | - Andreas Schulze
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marc Lütgehetmann
- German Center for Infection Research, Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems and Heidelberg Sites, Germany; Department of Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Gyorgy Snell
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, California 94158, USA
| | | | | | - Stephan Urban
- German Center for Infection Research, Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems and Heidelberg Sites, Germany; Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maura Dandri
- Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; German Center for Infection Research, Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems and Heidelberg Sites, Germany
| | - Davide Corti
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Michael A Schmid
- Humabs Biomed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland.
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Maher MC, Soriaga LB, Gupta A, Chen YP, di Iulio J, Ledoux S, Smithey MJ, Cathcart AL, McKusick K, Sun D, Aldinger M, Alexander E, Purcell L, Ding X, Peppercorn A, Austin D, Mogalian E, Yeh WW, Shapiro AE, Corti D, Virgin HW, Pang PS, Telenti A. Antibody therapy reverses biological signatures of COVID-19 progression. Cell Rep Med 2022; 3:100721. [PMID: 35977462 PMCID: PMC9380250 DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Understanding who is at risk of progression to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is key to clinical decision making and effective treatment. We study correlates of disease severity in the COMET-ICE clinical trial that randomized 1:1 to placebo or to sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (ClinicalTrials.gov04545060). Laboratory parameters identify study participants at greater risk of severe disease, including a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a negative SARS-CoV-2 serologic test, and whole-blood transcriptome profiles. Sotrovimab treatment is associated with normalization of NLR and the transcriptomic profile and with a decrease of viral RNA in nasopharyngeal samples. Transcriptomics provides the most sensitive detection of participants who would go on to be hospitalized or die. To facilitate timely measurement, we identify a 10-gene signature with similar predictive accuracy. We identify markers of risk for disease progression and demonstrate that normalization of these parameters occurs with antibody treatment of established infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Cyrus Maher
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA,Corresponding author
| | | | - Anil Gupta
- Albion Finch Medical, William Osler Health Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - David Sun
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Xiao Ding
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Adrienne E. Shapiro
- Departments of Global Health and Medicine, University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Davide Corti
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Herbert W. Virgin
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA,Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA,Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | | | - Amalio Telenti
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA,Corresponding author
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Lempp FA, Soriaga LB, Montiel-Ruiz M, Benigni F, Noack J, Park YJ, Bianchi S, Walls AC, Bowen JE, Zhou J, Kaiser H, Joshi A, Agostini M, Meury M, Dellota E, Jaconi S, Cameroni E, Martinez-Picado J, Vergara-Alert J, Izquierdo-Useros N, Virgin HW, Lanzavecchia A, Veesler D, Purcell LA, Telenti A, Corti D. Lectins enhance SARS-CoV-2 infection and influence neutralizing antibodies. Nature 2021; 598:342-347. [PMID: 34464958 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03925-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 189] [Impact Index Per Article: 63.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 infection-which involves both cell attachment and membrane fusion-relies on the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which is paradoxically found at low levels in the respiratory tract1-3, suggesting that there may be additional mechanisms facilitating infection. Here we show that C-type lectin receptors, DC-SIGN, L-SIGN and the sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 1 (SIGLEC1) function as attachment receptors by enhancing ACE2-mediated infection and modulating the neutralizing activity of different classes of spike-specific antibodies. Antibodies to the amino-terminal domain or to the conserved site at the base of the receptor-binding domain, while poorly neutralizing infection of ACE2-overexpressing cells, effectively block lectin-facilitated infection. Conversely, antibodies to the receptor binding motif, while potently neutralizing infection of ACE2-overexpressing cells, poorly neutralize infection of cells expressing DC-SIGN or L-SIGN and trigger fusogenic rearrangement of the spike, promoting cell-to-cell fusion. Collectively, these findings identify a lectin-dependent pathway that enhances ACE2-dependent infection by SARS-CoV-2 and reveal distinct mechanisms of neutralization by different classes of spike-specific antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Fabio Benigni
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | | | - Young-Jun Park
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Siro Bianchi
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra C Walls
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - John E Bowen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jiayi Zhou
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Anshu Joshi
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Stefano Jaconi
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Elisabetta Cameroni
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Javier Martinez-Picado
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Badalona, Spain.,University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), Vic, Spain.,Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Júlia Vergara-Alert
- IRTA, Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA, IRTA-UAB), Campus de la UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Spain
| | - Nuria Izquierdo-Useros
- IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Badalona, Spain.,Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Can Ruti Campus, Badalona, Spain
| | - Herbert W Virgin
- Vir Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.,Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | | | - David Veesler
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Davide Corti
- Humabs Biomed SA, a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, Bellinzona, Switzerland.
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Spreafico R, Soriaga LB, Grosse J, Virgin HW, Telenti A. Advances in Genomics for Drug Development. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E942. [PMID: 32824125 PMCID: PMC7465049 DOI: 10.3390/genes11080942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug development (target identification, advancing drug leads to candidates for preclinical and clinical studies) can be facilitated by genetic and genomic knowledge. Here, we review the contribution of population genomics to target identification, the value of bulk and single cell gene expression analysis for understanding the biological relevance of a drug target, and genome-wide CRISPR editing for the prioritization of drug targets. In genomics, we discuss the different scope of genome-wide association studies using genotyping arrays, versus exome and whole genome sequencing. In transcriptomics, we discuss the information from drug perturbation and the selection of biomarkers. For CRISPR screens, we discuss target discovery, mechanism of action and the concept of gene to drug mapping. Harnessing genetic support increases the probability of drug developability and approval.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Amalio Telenti
- Vir Biotechnology, Inc., San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; (R.S.); (L.B.S.); (J.G.); (H.W.V.)
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Ajjawi I, Verruto J, Aqui M, Soriaga LB, Coppersmith J, Kwok K, Peach L, Orchard E, Kalb R, Xu W, Carlson TJ, Francis K, Konigsfeld K, Bartalis J, Schultz A, Lambert W, Schwartz AS, Brown R, Moellering ER. Lipid production in Nannochloropsis gaditana is doubled by decreasing expression of a single transcriptional regulator. Nat Biotechnol 2017. [DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 268] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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