Effect of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies on Hantaan virus infection of the macrophage P388D1 cell line.

The effect of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (N MAbs) on Hantaan virus infection of macrophages was investigated using P388D1 cells, a murine macrophage cell line. MAbs to the G1 protein (G1b) and the G2 protein (G2a and G2c) neutralized viral infectivity in P388D1 cells. N MAbs to G1b showed much higher neutralizing potency than those to G2a and G2c. With each N MAbs, two distinct effects were observed: neutralization of viral infectivity occurring at high concentrations and enhancement of that at low concentrations. Non-neutralizing MAbs, on the other hand, showed only enhancement of viral infectivity even at high concentrations without any inhibitory effects. The Fab fragments of N MAbs showed neither neutralizing nor enhancing activities. However, when the virus-Fab complexes were reacted with the anti-Fab antibodies, both neutralization and enhancement of viral infectivity were restored depending on the dose of Fab fragments. These results indicate that Hantaan virus infection of P388D1 cells is mediated by the Fc portion of the antibodies and neutralization is dependent on the concentration of N antibodies bound bivalently to the neutralization site on the virion.