Abstract
Yellow fever virus (YFV) is a reemerging global health threat, driven by several factors, including increased spread of the mosquito vector and rapid urbanization. Although a prophylactic vaccine exists, vaccine hesitancy, supply deficits, and distribution difficulties leave specific populations at risk of severe YFV disease, as evidenced by recent outbreaks in South America. To establish a treatment for patients with severe YFV infection, we tested 37 YFV-specific monoclonal antibodies isolated from vaccinated humans and identified two capable of potently neutralizing multiple pathogenic primary YFV isolates. Using both hamster and nonhuman primate models of lethal YFV infection, we demonstrate that a single administration of either of these two potently neutralizing antibodies during acute infection fully controlled viremia and prevented severe disease and death in treated animals. Given the potential severity of YFV-induced disease, our results show that these antibodies could be effective in saving lives and fill a much-needed void in managing YFV cases during outbreaks.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.ade5795
Funding Information
This work was supported by NIH grants R42 AI155275 and P51 OD011092 and by Mabloc LLC.
Repository Citation
Ricciardi, Michael J.; Rust, Lauren N.; Pedreño-Lopez, Nuria; Yusova, Sofiya; Biswas, Sreya; Webb, Gabriela M.; Gonzalez-Nieto, Lucas; Voigt, Thomas B.; Louw, Johan J.; Laurino, Fernanda D.; DiBello, John R.; Raué, Hans-Peter; Barber-Axthelm, Aaron M.; Chun, Kimberly; Uttke, Samantha; Raphael, Lidiane M. S.; Yrizarry-Medina, Aaron; Rosen, Brandon C.; Agnor, Rebecca; Gao, Lina; Labriola, Caralyn; Axthelm, Michael; Smedley, Jeremy; Julander, Justin G.; Bonaldo, Myrna C.; Walker, Laura M.; Messaoudi, Ilhem; Slifka, Mark K.; Burton, Dennis R.; Kallas, Esper G.; Sacha, Jonah B.; Watkins, David I.; and Burwitz, Benjamin J., "Therapeutic neutralizing monoclonal antibody administration protects against lethal yellow fever virus infection" (2023). Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications. 181.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/microbio_facpub/181
Notes/Citation Information
Copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.