Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Siena, Italy.
PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(6):e1003115. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003115. Epub 2013 Jun 27.
The pilus 2a backbone protein (BP-2a) is one of the most structurally and functionally characterized components of a potential vaccine formulation against Group B Streptococcus. It is characterized by six main immunologically distinct allelic variants, each inducing variant-specific protection. To investigate the molecular determinants driving the variant immunogenic specificity of BP-2a, in terms of single residue contributions, we generated six monoclonal antibodies against a specific protein variant based on their capability to recognize the polymerized pili structure on the bacterial surface. Three mAbs were also able to induce complement-dependent opsonophagocytosis killing of live GBS and target the same linear epitope present in the structurally defined and immunodominant domain D3 of the protein. Molecular docking between the modelled scFv antibody sequences and the BP-2a crystal structure revealed the potential role at the binding interface of some non-conserved antigen residues. Mutagenesis analysis confirmed the necessity of a perfect balance between charges, size and polarity at the binding interface to obtain specific binding of mAbs to the protein antigen for a neutralizing response.
纤毛 2a 骨干蛋白(BP-2a)是针对 B 群链球菌潜在疫苗制剂中结构和功能最具特征性的成分之一。它的特点是有六个主要的免疫上不同的等位基因变异体,每个变异体都能诱导特定的保护性免疫。为了研究 BP-2a 变体免疫原性特异性的分子决定因素,就单残基贡献而言,我们根据其识别细菌表面聚合菌毛结构的能力,针对特定蛋白变体生成了六种单克隆抗体。其中三种 mAb 还能够诱导补体依赖性调理吞噬作用杀死活的 GBS,并靶向该蛋白结构定义和免疫显性结构域 D3 中存在的相同线性表位。建模的 scFv 抗体序列与 BP-2a 晶体结构之间的分子对接揭示了在结合界面上一些非保守抗原残基的潜在作用。突变分析证实,在结合界面上获得 mAb 对蛋白质抗原的特异性结合以产生中和反应时,电荷、大小和极性之间需要达到完美平衡。