Open AccessRecombinant influenza H7 hemagglutinins induce lower neutralizing antibody titers in mice than do seasonal hemagglutinins
Author(s) -
Blanchfield Kristy,
Kamal Ram P.,
Tzeng WenPin,
Music Nedzad,
Wilson Jason R.,
Stevens James,
Lipatov Aleksander S.,
Katz Jacqueline M.,
York Ian A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
influenza and other respiratory viruses
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.743
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1750-2659
pISSN - 1750-2640
DOI - 10.1111/irv.12285
Subject(s) - immunogenicity , virology , hemagglutinin (influenza) , avidity , antibody , neutralizing antibody , biology , titer , hemagglutination assay , influenza a virus subtype h5n1 , antibody titer , recombinant dna , immunization , serology , influenza a virus , microbiology and biotechnology , virus , immunology , gene , biochemistry
Background Vaccines against avian influenza viruses often require high hemagglutinin ( HA ) doses or adjuvants to achieve serological titers associated with protection against disease. In particular, viruses of the H7 subtype frequently do not induce strong antibody responses following immunization. Objectives To evaluate whether poor immunogenicity of H7 viruses is an intrinsic property of the H7 hemagglutinin. Methods We compared the immunogenicity, in naïve mice, of purified recombinant HA from two H7 viruses [A/Netherlands/219/2003(H7N7) and A/New York/107/2003(H7N2)] to that of HA from human pandemic [A/California/07/2009(H1N1pdm09)] and seasonal [A/Perth16/2009(H3N2)] viruses. Results After two intramuscular injections with purified hemagglutinin, mice produced antibodies to all HA s, but the response to the human virus HA s was greater than to H7 HA s. The difference was relatively minor when measured by ELISA , greater when measured by hemagglutination inhibition assays, and more marked still by microneutralization assays. H7 HA s induced little or no neutralizing antibody response in mice at either dose tested. Antibodies induced by H7 were of significantly lower avidity than for H3 or H1N1pdm09. Conclusions We conclude that H7 HA s may be intrinsically less immunogenic than HA from seasonal human influenza viruses.